Originally Posted by
VH-RMD
I do recall a statement about Sydney, but I can't find it now....
Qatar doesn't serve Sydney, and have said several times in the past that until the curfew is lifted, they won't be flying there. To the best of my knowledge, they have made no further statements about it in the last while.
Qatar does not fly into Sydney and does not intend to until the airport becomes a 24-hour operation, CEO Akbar Al Baker recently told Traveller columnist Clive Dorman.
"We are keen to fly to Sydney. I don't see any reason why it's not a 24-hour airport," he said. "Residents must keep in mind that with today's new technology, planes have [the latest] 'stage four' noise emissions, so as soon as they take off and get to 500 feet, you can hardly hear them.
"All the fuss is being made by greenies, but they still want to travel in planes, yet [they] are restricting the growth of aviation and the economic benefits to the country."
"The curfew is a very big factor (of) not operating to Sydney and the operating cost out of Sydney is very high," Al-Baker observed.
An Australian website, TravelDaily, exclusively revealed a year ago that Qatar would start Sydney. But, as you know, that was not true..
QATAR Airways will accede to Sydney Airport’s strict night-time curfew and add the NSW capital to its global network, ceo Akbar Al Baker has revealed to TD. The outspoken airline chief exec made the comment yesterday in Doha at the inauguration of Qatar Airways as the oneworld alliance’s 13th member carrier.