DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways has become the first global airline in the world to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Ranking by international air transport rating organization, Skytrax.
The announcement follows a detailed audit, carried out by the Skytrax team in December 2020, which assessed how successfully and constantly the airline’s stringent COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards and procedures are adhered to, from flight check-in to onboard plane. This included a full overview of procedural effectivity checks, visual remark of hygiene and safety ranges at all levels of the passenger journey, and onboard Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) sampling tests to measure the potential level of contamination of contact surfaces.
The achievement of the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating is in addition to Qatar Airways’ house and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), recently being named as the first airport within the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Ranking in December 2020.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, stated: “As an industry leader and the ‘World’s Best Airline’, as named by Skytrax, we’re well-used to setting the standard for others to follow. We’re delighted that our dedication to providing the most rigorous and comprehensive COVID-19 safety program in existence within the global aviation community has been recognized with the Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating.
“This achievement highlights the fastidious measures and procedures Qatar Airways have employed to safeguard the well being and wellbeing of our passengers all through the worldwide pandemic so far and follows HIA’s current success as the primary airport within the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Security Ranking.
“It also provides assurance to passengers internationally that airline health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scrutiny and assessment. As Qatar Airways continues to deal with the ongoing impact and challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, we want to reinforce the message that air travel doesn’t need to be a source of concern to passengers.
“In the meantime, we look ahead to continuing to offer the safest possible experience for travelers across the world, and expanding upon our function in aiding the recovery of the commercial aviation industry over the coming months.”
Skytrax Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Edward Plaisted, stated: “We congratulate Qatar Airways on being awarded the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Safety Rating and being the world’s first major airline to be certified at this level. Qatar Airways kept flying throughout COVID-19, taking over 3.1 million individuals’ homes since the start of the pandemic, and it’s this experience that enables them to deliver a wonderful standard of health and hygiene safety measures to keep customers and staff protected.”
Qatar Airways’ on-board safety measures include the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit for passengers. Business Class passengers on a plane equipped with Qsuite can enjoy the enhanced privacy of this award-winning business seat supplies, together with sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 45 locations together with Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, London, and New York.
As well, the airline also uses the most superior HEPA air filtration techniques onboard all planes and recently grew to become the first global carrier to introduce Honeywell’s state-of-the-art Ultraviolet Cabin System, operated by Qatar Aviation Services, as a further step within the cleaning of its plane. For full details of all of the measures which were implemented onboard and in HIA,
Qatar Airways at present operates more than 800 weekly flights to over 110 locations across the globe. By the end of March, Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to 130 locations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivaled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to change their journey dates or destination if they need to.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline within the Middle East’, ‘World’s Greatest Business Class’, and ‘Greatest Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class expertise, Qsuite. It’s the only airline to have been awarded the coveted ‘Skytrax Airline of the Yr’ title, which is recognized as the pinnacle of excellence within the airline industry, 5 times. Along with this, Qatar Airways home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) was ranked the ‘Greatest Airport within the Middle East’ and ‘Third Best Airport within the World’ by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020.
