Qatar Aviation Services (QAS) is seeking to establish ground operations beyond its country’s borders.
The announcement was made by Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, during the 31st annual IATA Ground Handling Conference (IGHC), held in Doha.
“We have a very robust mission to lead the industry in ground handling services and to build an effective partnership with our valued customers. This is the foundation of our business expansion, globally,” he said.
“Qatar Airways, along with QAS, is now bidding for ground handling company establishment in major airports that we operate into.”
Al Baker said QAS, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways that was established in 2000 and headquartered at the airline’s hub of Hamad International Airport, will seek to progressively roll out ground handling operations across the airline’s network, focusing on locations with high frequencies of operation.
Qatar Airways, which operates from its hub at Hamad International Airport, provides service to 54 countries.
“We don’t want to go global. But we just want to make sure that where Qatar Airways does not get the standards of service that we require, and we have high frequencies … we would then like to handle our own airplanes.”
QAS utilizes advance systems to coordinate its 24/7 ground handling services at Hamad International Airport. Al Baker said the company’s advanced systems could be beneficial when establishing ground handling operations outside of Qatar.
“It would be our own ground handling company, so we would introduce the systems that we have here,” Al Baker said. “Today, technology is the game-changer. We hope that we’ll introduce those technologies.”
QAS employs more than 8,000 employees, providing airside ground operations, aircraft movements, passenger services and cargo handling.
