Qatar Airways lifts 1.54mn tons of airfreight; accounts for 8% global share in 1 year up to March

Qatar Airways transported more than 1,541,041 tonnes of air freight, accounting for an 8.14% share in the global market from April 2022 to March 2023, according to the national airline’s annual report for 2022/23.

The world’s largest cargo carrier serves over 70 freighter destinations and more than 150 belly-hold passenger destinations worldwide.

Qatar Airways Cargo said it maintained its position as the world’s leading air cargo carrier throughout the 2022/2023 financial year, forging ahead with a strategic focus on growth, sustainability and digitalisation, and supporting the continuity of global trade, despite ongoing market challenges.

With a tonnage of 159,730,903 kg in chargeable weight, Qatar Airways Cargo declined by 9.39% in chargeable weight compared to the same period in the previous year.

In 2022/2023, Qatar Airways Cargo successfully managed a broad range of demanding shipments. With an overall 84,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical products transported, including 4,000 tonnes of vaccines and over 1,200 tonnes of Covid vaccines, the cargo carrier maintained its strong engagement in helping curb the pandemic. Moreover, providing safe transportation of 12,600 horses has confirmed its leading position in this field.

Qatar Airways Cargo has also achieved a considerable number of charter operations with more than 1,400 charter flights last year, which includes charters for e-commerce, animals, music band tours and FIFA related activities.

In addition to this, throughout 2022/2023, Qatar Airways Cargo continued its expansion around the globe by adding freighter frequencies to Athens, Cairo and Riyadh, as well as the passenger freighter flights to Colombo and Penang.

By applying its Next Generation vision to all areas of its business, Qatar Airways Cargo has brought enhancements to its services and sharply accelerated its digital transformation.

In that respect, another key event in 2022 was the launch of the ‘Digital Lounge’, Qatar Airways Cargo’s new web platform, designed to provide a more streamlined and connected booking experience for customers.

As part of the carrier’s omni-channel strategy, the platform offers users direct access to the main three bookings platforms of the industry.

Safety and security continues to be the number one priority for the cargo carrier and, in 2022, the carrier received IATA CEIV Lithium Batteries certification for its strict adherence to the highest standards and regulations, becoming the second airline in the world, and the first in the Middle East, to be CEIV Lithium Batteries certified.