Passengers are now required to wear a face shield, in addition to a face mask or covering, throughout their flight, and will be given a complimentary protective kit onboard. The airline has also introduced a new protective gown for cabin crew.
DOHA, QATAR – Qatar Airways has increased its health and safety measures onboard by introducing new personal protective equipment (PPE) for customers and cabin crew. The airline’s additional robust measures include offering face shields and protective kits to all passengers, in addition to a new protective gown for cabin crew.
The disposable face shield will be available in two standard sizes – one for adults and the other for children. The children’s face shields feature the airline’s Oryx Kids Club mascots as part of their design. Passengers travelling from Hamad International Airport (HIA) will receive their face shields at the check-in counters, whereas at other destinations, the face shields will be distributed at the boarding gates.
Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers will be provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a ziplock pouch they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel. Business Class customers will also be offered an additional 75ml sanitiser gel tube.
Qatar Airways has also introduced new disposable protective gowns for cabin crew that are fitted over their uniforms, in addition to safety glasses, gloves and a mask. The new branded gowns are personalised with Qatar Airways’ logo imprinted on the top left corner.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the safety of our passengers has been our highest priority. By introducing these additional onboard safety and hygiene measures, our customers can rely on us and our unparalleled expertise to fly them safely to their destination. As the largest international airline flying consistently throughout the pandemic, we have become one of the most experienced in safety and hygiene. We will continue to lead the industry in terms of the services offered to our passengers, so that they can travel with confidence.”
To ensure the highest levels of hygiene onboard, Economy Class passengers are required to wear their face shield visor in addition to their face mask or covering throughout the flight, except when they are served their meals or drinks. Business Class customers are asked to wear their face shield and mask onboard at their own discretion, as they enjoy more space and privacy. In addition, for aircraft equipped with Qsuite, Qatar Airways’ award-winning business seat, Business Class customers are offered even greater privacy with sliding partitions and fully closing doors, and an option to display a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator if they wish to limit their interactions with cabin crew.
Parents flying with children should advise them to keep wearing their PPE throughout the journey, although children under two years of age are not advised to wear face shields and face masks or coverings . During boarding and disembarkation, all passengers will be required to wear their face mask or covering as well as the face shield.
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the airline has also applied other additional health and safety measures onboard its flights. Business Class meals are served covered on a tray instead of a table set up, and a cutlery wrap is offered to passengers as an alternative to individual cutlery service, in an effort to minimise contact between crew and passengers. Qatar Airways has also introduced single-use menu cards and sealed refreshing wipes. Economy Class meals and cutlery are served sealed as usual, and menu cards have been temporarily discontinued. All social areas onboard the aircraft have been closed adhering to the social distancing measures.
Qatar Airways’ aircraft are regularly disinfected using cleaning products recommended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its aircraft feature the most advanced air filtration systems, equipped with industrial-size HEPA filters that remove 99.97% of viral and bacterial contaminants from re-circulated air, providing the most effective protection against infection.
All the airline’s onboard linen and blankets are washed, dried and pressed at microbial lethal temperatures, while its headsets are rigorously sanitised after each flight. These items are then sealed into individual packaging by staff wearing hygienic disposable gloves.
Cabin crew have received training on how to minimise their chances of contracting or spreading the infection, are thermally screened before the departure of flights and after their arrival, and are quarantined and tested if any colleagues or passengers on a flight shows any symptoms of infection or test positive for the virus.
In addition, HIA has implemented stringent cleaning procedures and applied social distancing measures throughout its terminals. All passenger touchpoints are sanitized every 10-15 minutes and every boarding gate and bus gate counter is cleaned after each flight. In addition, hand sanitizers are provided at immigration and security screening points.
Since mid-February, Qatar Airways has helped reunite almost two million passengers with their loved ones, operating a mix of scheduled and charter services plus extra sectors. Globally, Qatar Airways relaunched 11 destinations on 1 July. This marks the largest number of route resumptions in a single day since Qatar Airways started to rebuild its network in what the airline has dubbed ‘Takeoff Wednesday’. By mid-July, its network will expand to more than 65 destinations worldwide.
Qatar Airways Launches Three-Weekly Flights to Toronto, Starting 4 July 2020
Qatar Airways also announced it will operate three weekly flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport from 4 July 2020. The flights will be operated by an Airbus A350-900 offering 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “In these difficult times, customers are looking for an airline they can rely on and trust. Our unrivalled experience in taking people home safely and reliably continues to provide the assurance people need. We have built a strong level of confidence with passengers, governments, trade partners, and airports as a trusted partner during this crisis and we intend to continue delivering on this mission.
“We have worked closely with the Government of Canada and its embassies around the world during this crisis to bring home safely over 16,000 Canadians through our scheduled flights to Montreal and special charter flights to Toronto and Vancouver. Qatar Airways has never stopped operating to Canada throughout this crisis and we are pleased to be able to further strengthen our support to the people of Canada with the addition of these three weekly scheduled flights to Toronto.”
By maintaining a network that never fell below 30 destinations during this crisis, and the provision of over 300 charter flights globally, Qatar Airways has helped repatriate close to two million during this crisis. The national carrier of the State of Qatar has received widespread praise and thanks from passengers and governments, including Canadian embassies worldwide, as the airline that can be relied on to take people home.
With the addition of scheduled flights to Toronto, Qatar Airways will operate seven passenger flights per week to Canada:
- Three-weekly flights to Toronto (Airbus A350-900)
- Four-weekly flights to Montreal (Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777)
Qatar Airways currently operates one of the largest global networks with over 275 weekly flights to 49 destinations worldwide, with more destinations planned to resume flights in July. Passengers travelling to and from Canada will enjoy a seamless connection through the airline’s hub and home, Hamad International Airport, which was recently ranked by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020 as the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Third Best Airport in the World’, moving up one position from last year’s ranking.
To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has also extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers. The airline will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination. The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will be valid for two years from the date of issuance.
Qatar Airways has further enhanced its onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew. The airline has introduced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses and a new protective gown that is fitted over their uniforms. A modified service that reduces interactions between passengers and the crew inflight has also been introduced.
Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers are now provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a ziplock pouch they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel. The airline has also introduced disposable face shields for adults and children. Passengers travelling from Hamad International Airport (HIA) will receive their face shields at the check-in counters, whereas at other destinations, the face shields will be distributed at the boarding gates.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
