Qatar Airways touches down in Odesa

Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight from Doha to Odesa, Ukraine, landed at Odesa International Airport on December 9, marking the launch of the airline’s second gateway to Ukraine.

Operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, flight QR309 carrying Qatar Airways regional manager Christian Deresjo was welcomed with an opening ceremony attended by the head of Odesa’s Regional State Administration, Serhii Hrynevetsky; the city mayor of Odesa, Hennadii Trukhanov; the head of Odesa’s Regional Council, Hryhoriy Didenko; and Odesa City Council director of Culture and Tourism, Tetiana Markova, as well as the director-general of Odesa International Airport, Volodymyr Semenchenko.Qatar Airways Group chief executive HE Akbar al-Baker said, “The start of service to Odesa marks the growing relationship between Qatar and Ukraine. Odesa is popular for both business and leisure, and in particular, we expect the route to serve seafarers and offshore workers around the world, who will be able to enjoy our industry-first, dedicated ‘Mariner Lounge’ at the airline’s home airport, Hamad International Airport (HIA).“This important new gateway will provide enhanced connectivity to both business and leisure travellers, and will help connect passengers from Odesa to our extensive global network of more than 140 destinations worldwide.”Semenchenko said, “2021 has been an exciting year for Odesa International Airport ending with more exciting news; the start of a co-operation with Qatar Airways, the World’s Best Airline according to the World Airline Awards 2021 rating by Skytrax. The new Doha-Odesa route opens up new horizons worldwide for our passengers."We are happy to welcome Qatar Airways to Odesa and are confident that it will be a long term and mutually beneficial co-operation.”The new direct services to Odesa will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class. As well as enjoying the award-winning in-flight service on board, passengers travelling to Odesa will also have access to Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system, offering the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and more.A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2021 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having now won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and now 2021). The airline’s hub, HIA, was recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport in the World 2021’, by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021.