Airline Pledges More Financial Support To Fishing Village Adopted By Staff
Qatar Airways' Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker pledged additional financial support by the airline to build more houses in a village devastated in last year's tsunami disaster, when he held talks with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister.
During a flying visit to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Al Baker discussed a wide range of initiatives with the country's PM Mahinda Rajapakse.
These included a commitment by Qatar Airways to adopt the fishing village of Jambuwatte, 80km south of Colombo, by rebuilding 25 houses and a community centre damaged or destroyed in last year's disaster. Al Baker said the Doha-based company would support the reconstruction of a further 75 houses to help the local community get back on its feet.
Earlier, Al Baker held a press conference in the city at which he spoke of how Qatar Airways staff had initiated a fund-raising drive to support the tsunami project. During talks with the Prime Minister, he said Qatar Airways enjoyed a long-standing association with Sri Lanka and looked forward to strengthening ties.
Colombo, he said, was a historic route for Qatar Airways as the airline's first destination outside the Middle East, launched in 1993, before the carrier's relaunch.
He said Qatar Airways' double daily flights, operating between the airline's Doha hub and Colombo, were performing exceptionally well and pledged to increase the number of services between both capitals.
Al Baker thanked Mr Rajapakse for helping forge economic and trade ties between Sri Lanka and Qatar. With tourism a key driver of Sri Lanka's economy, he said Qatar Airways would play a big role in helping rebuild Sri Lanka's tourism industry which was affected by last December's disaster.
He briefed the Prime Minister on the sterling role played by airline staff to launch the fund-raising drive. Work began on the project, in conjunction with Habitat International - a non-government association - earlier this month with completion due within weeks.
-Ends-
About the company
Qatar Airways currently operates twice daily scheduled flights between Colombo and its operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. The airline serves 66 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and the Far East and will add the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to its growing list of destinations from November 15, followed a month later by Berlin on December 15.
Qatar Airways flies a modern fleet of 40 all-Airbus aircraft, which will almost triple in size to 110 jets within 10 years. The airline announced plans at the Paris Air Show in June to acquire up to 80 aircraft, comprising 60 of the new generation A350s and 20 Boeing 777s worth a total US$15.2 billion.
It is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck A380 'super jumbos' with four aircraft on order and scheduled for delivery from 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport.
Qatar Airways recently retained its status as one of only a select-few, Five Star-ranked airlines in the world by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency.
For further information please contact:
Salam Al Shawa
Senior Manager Marketing & Communications
Qatar Airways
Tel: 974 4496956
Fax: 974 4620132
E-mail: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
Web: www.qatarairways.com
© Press Release 2005
