In March, Qatar was added to the United Kingdom’s red list of countries, minimizing travel between the two nations. However, the Middle Eastern country has today joined India, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the UK’s amber list. Simple Flying caught up with Qatar Airways’ leadership amid this move.
Upping frequencies
Unvaccinated passengers arriving from amber list countries have to take a test within three days before their flight and a take a day two and day eight test after arrival. They also have to home quarantine for ten days unless they pay for an extra test to release test on day five. However, if they are fully vaccinated, they don’t have to home quarantine or take the day eight test.
The UK government concludes who is on the red, amber and green lists for England. Meanwhile, the other home nations decide their own lists. Nonetheless, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland confirmed that they would follow suit with the changes.
Thus, it’s not only in England where there will be service ramp-ups for Qatar Airways. The airline will be adding frequencies at London, Manchester, and Edinburgh.
The frequencies for the next three months will be as follows:
Edinburgh
- August: Two flights per week will continue
- September – An increase to three flights per week
- October – An increase to three flights per week
London Heathrow
- August: 21 flights per week
- September: 21 flights per week
- October: 28 flights per week
Manchester
- August: Three flights per week will continue
- September: An increase to seven flights per week
- October: Seven flights per week
Word from Qatar
Rossen Dimitrov, Chief Officer Customer Experience of Qatar Airways, shared how glad his team is about the change. He highlighted how important the UK market is for his airline.
“We are pleased that and welcome the change of status. The UK is always a very important market for us. Not only for our global travelers but also our local Qatari travelers,” Dimitrov told Simple Flying.
“The UK, and London Heathrow, especially, is a very popular destination. A lot of people are already excited. I have to tell you that when the news broke out I received a lot of messages from people I know around the world and a lot of local Qatari families. Everyone was super excited, and, obviously, we are excited as well, it’s a great opportunity and it’s a step in the right direction.”
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In the right direction
It’s understandable why Dimitrov emphasized the popularity of London Heathrow, with the other UK destinations only seeing a fraction of the activity of this airport. This comes as no surprise as Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe before the pandemic.
Altogether, Qatar Airways has shown that it’s willing to be present across the nations as much as it can even during the harshest times of the health crisis. So, with the skies slowly opening up again, the carrier wouldn’t waste time to get in on the action.
What are your thoughts about Qatar Airways’ operations to the United Kingdom? Are you looking to fly with the carrier soon? Let us know what you think of the airline and its services in the comment section.
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