OREANDA-NEWS. August 19, 2014. Qatar Airways announced a further expansion of its African operations with plans to launch scheduled flights to Eritrea’s capital city Asmara, effective 4 December 2014.

The twice-weekly flights will operate from Doha to Asmara and will be served by an Airbus A320 featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy.

Strategically located by the Red Sea, the economy of Eritrea has experienced considerable growth in recent years as the country has capitalised on its extensive deposits of natural resources such as copper, gold, granite, marble, and potassium. Capital city Asmara also has much to offer the leisure traveller being a city steeped in rich architecture and culture.

The newest Qatar Airways’ destination in Africa is another example of the airline’s commitment to open up access to markets that are largely underserved by international airlines and have great potential.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: "We are very pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa with the launch of scheduled flights to Asmara, allowing us to further expand our business on the African continent.

“There is clearly demand and huge potential to and from Eritrea, one of the many underserved markets in Africa. As a global five-star carrier we are constantly looking for new opportunities to fulfil the needs of the travelling public from such markets and for those wanting to travel there from the more than 140 destinations that we serve around the world.”

Passengers can now book tickets through registered travel agents and the Qatar Airways website www.qatarairways.com to take advantage of the airline’s seamless connections to popular destinations including Dubai, Frankfurt, Stockholm, London, Oslo, Copenhagen, Chicago and Washington via the airline’s Doha hub.