Qatar Airways Cargo has increased freighter frequencies to The Netherlands in order to “maintain the supply of essential goods and vital aid wordwide” as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact nations.

The airline now operates a total of 34 freighters each week to and from the country, up from nine weekly freighters.

Additional capacity has been introduced on the route based on increased demand for shipment of goods to and from the country. The Boeing 777 and 747 freighters operate to Amsterdam and Maastricht, with 27 weekly frequencies to Amsterdam and seven weekly frequencies to the latter.

Mr. Guillaume Halleux, chief officer of cargo, said: “In these tough and trying times, it’s important to support the global trade and maintain the supply of essential goods and vital aid worldwide.

“I am thankful to the airport authorities, the slot coordination team and the Dutch government who have helped us with the frequency increase. We are all in this together and are glad to be of help to our customers and countries globally.”

Air freight plays an important tole in the European economy, with pharmaceuticals and perishables making up the majority of exports from The Netherlands, while imports consist of medical equipment, vegetables, fruits and flowers.

Amsterdam is one of the biggest gateways in Europe for Qatar Airways Cargo. With the added frequencies, and additional capacity of over 5,000 tonnes to and from The Netherlands capacity has increased to over 7,500 tonnes in total.

The airline continues to operate daily passenger flights into Amsterdam.

Qatar Airways Cargo utilises its full freighter fleet as per schedule and operates belly-hold cargo flights to destinations where possible.

Other airlines have also announced that they have increased their freighter fleets following the coronavirus outbreak, including Turkish Cargo and Latam Cargo.

A full list of belly-hold cargo destinations is available at qatarairways.com/en/travel-alerts/COVID-19-update.html.