Qatar Airways Cargo is one of the air cargo partners working with the Australian government to restore critical global supply chains through the A$100m funded International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM).
The IFAM has been launched to help high-value Australian agricultural and fisheries producers, who have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 containment measures around the world.
The other successful providers include: Qantas Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Federal Express , Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, CT Freight, Schenker Australia, Kuehne + Nagel Australia, Air Menzies International (Aust), Toll Group and DHL Global Forwarding.
For more information, please see the Fact Sheet or go to www.austrade.gov.au/ifam.
In the first three weeks of its operation, over 560 Australian businesses have registered their interest in utilising IFAM and agreements for 55 freight flights have already been secured, said the Australian government in a statement.
Through this initiative, the Australian government is partially offsetting the cost of airfreight and freight forwarding costs for exporters, ensuring businesses and exporters can transport their produce swiftly on flights to international customers.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “Through our passenger flights and freighters from Australia, we are offering registered exporters over 750 tonnes of cargo capacity each week for their high value fresh produce. In times of crisis, we need to be able to adapt quickly and we are proud to be part of this initiative that supports global trade.”
The Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, said: “The COVID-19 crisis has led to major air freight shortages and disrupted supply chains around the world.
“Appointment of these airlines [such as Qatar Airways Cargo] will help kick-start regular cost effective services to key export markets and enhance the capacity for full freight flights of agricultural products from regional locations.
“The quicker we can get our products off the farm and onto airplanes, the more Australian jobs we can save and the quicker our agricultural exporters can bounce back.”
McCormack added: “We’ve already seen lobster from Western Australia, lamb from Victoria and salmon from Tasmania shipped to international ports and markets.”
Through IFAM’s mechanism, Qatar Airways Cargo will offer block space capacity and charters for Australian exports like seafood, meat, dairy and horticulture such as premium fruits, packaged salads and vegetables on flights from Melbourne, Sydney and Perth with more departure points to be added based on demand and freight optimisation.
For other Australian destinations like Brisbane and Adelaide, trucking options are available to the online points. The exports will be transported on Qatar Airways network to the Middle East including Qatar and many destinations in Europe.
On the import side, the flights will bring in medicines, medical supplies and equipment to support Australia’s fight against COVID-19.
Qatar Airways currently operates two Boeing 777 freighters, nine Boeing 777 freight-only passenger flights and 18 Airbus A350 belly-hold cargo flights each week to and from Australia, offering a combined cargo capacity of more than 750 tonnes each way.
The airline continues to operate a significant cargo schedule with approximately 100 flights per day.
During the past month the Qatar Airwaysr has worked closely with governments and NGOs to transport over 100,000 tonnes of medical and aid supplies to impacted regions around the world on both scheduled and charter services, the equivalent of roughly 1,000 fully loaded Boeing 777 freighters.
Qatar Airways freight charters are being operated to multiple countries including China, India, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.
Qatar Airways Cargo utilises its full freighter fleet as per schedule and operates belly-hold cargo flights to destinations where possible. A full list of belly-hold cargo destinations is available at here. To check the most updated schedules, click here
