Qatar adds more flights to Melbourne

Tourism businesses and exporters are set to benefit from increased flights and hundreds of new jobs as Qatar Airways expands its services to Melbourne.

The airline will fly a second daily service from Doha to Melbourne starting from 1 October, bringing more visitors to the state and boosting outbound airfreight capacity for exporters on the airline’s Boeing 777 aircraft.

The new service is backed by both the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport and will see Melbourne become the only Australian city Qatar Airways flies into twice a day.

Once fully operational, Qatar Airways’ two daily flights to Melbourne will provide 250,000 seats to Victoria each year, generating around $82 million for the economy and creating an estimated 910 jobs in the aviation and tourism sectors.

The large freight capacity of the Boeing 777 means the flights will also provide over 10,000 tonnes of air freight capacity each year, boosting Victorian exporters’ access to markets in Europe and the Middle East.

Qatar is one of the richest economies in the world by GDP per capita and a growing consumer of Victorian products. Meat and dairy are Victoria’s most valuable exports to Qatar by airfreight, valued at over $47 million in 2021.

Qatar Airways joins other major airlines including Singapore, United, Qantas, Emirates and Etihad in expanding direct services to Melbourne.

Victoria’s international aviation sector directly employs 6,700 people and supports thousands of other jobs.