Economic recovery stimulates demand for Qatar Airways’ Doha-Accra flights
Ghana’s projected economic growth of 4.7 percent in 2021, supported by mining, services and expected increase in cocoa production, has spurred demand for Qatar Airways flights over the past year.
The Doha-based airline which flies to over 140 destinations over the world, says the economic recovery underway is stimulating demand.
From an initial three flights per week from Doha to Accra via Lagos, Qatar Airways now operates five scheduled flights per week directly between Doha and Accra.
Mr. Hendrik Du Preez, Qatar’s Vice President for Africa, speaking in an interview with AviationGhana in Accra, said: “There’s a reason why Ghana was one of the fastest growing economies for a number of years. I think that will continue. There’s a lot of infrastructure development happening in the city. The economy, I think, is moving in the right direction from a growth perspective.”
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He added that: “It’s been going quite well for us. We started in September last year and the flight was a tag beyond Lagos. This year, by June 16, we launched a direct flight to Accra.
“We just saw that the demand on that flight was so good that we decided to come directly to Accra. We started with 3x per week and a month later we increased to 5x per week. So it has been a good year for us.”
Though there is strong competition in Accra for Qatar from Emirates, and the likes of Ethiopian Airlines on the Far East route, despite the impact of the current pandemic, Mr. Hendrik Du Preez, believes that Qatar Airways’ modern aircraft on the years of experience and ‘generous’ booking policies will set it apart.
