Story by Victor Seow
Pix by Alissala Thian
WINNER of the World’s Best Airline at the SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards – Qatar Airways – will fly directly to Penang from Doha beginning from Feb 6 next year.
This was announced by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at a press conference on Nov 1 in the presence of almost all members of his state executive council as well as the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
In commending the strategic move made by the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar, the chief minister highlighted the enhanced stature of Penang’s global connectivity in welcoming more tourists from the Middle East.
“With its (Qatar Airways) new direct long haul, Penang can now open its doors to welcome more international and Middle Eastern travellers which is an important market. This also gives travellers from Penang more global connectivity as they can now go to Europe or the Middle East without having to transit to KL or Thailand,” he said.
Also present were Qatar Airways Asia Pacific vice president Jared Lee, Qatar Airways country manager Datuk Muzammil Mohamad and Penang Global Tourism CEO Ooi Chok Yan.
Qatar Airways began operations in 1994 as a small regional carrier serving a handful of routes.
Since its relaunch in 1997 under the mandate of the Emir of Qatar at the time, Qatar Airways gradually became a leading international airline with the highest standards of service and excellence.
Its string of recognitions include being named Airline of The Year in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017 as well as Best Business Class In The World for 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Qatar Airways also manages Hamad International Airport in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
The airport was named Best Airport in the Middle East in 2016 at the annual SKYTRAX World Airport Awards.
Meanwhile, Lim said the upgrading of the Penang International Airport (PIA), announced under Budget 2018, is good news for the state as it will provide greater confidence to the people, tourists and investors that the PIA is here to stay.
He however hoped that the upgrading would not merely have a nine million passengers capacity but 12 million instead.
“The existing PIA has been upgraded to cater to 6.5 million passengers by 2020, but we surpassed the target last year when we achieved 6.7 million passengers. That is four years in advance.
“If the upgrading is merely to cater to nine million passengers, we fear that when it is completed in three or four years, we may have surpassed the target as well,” he told reporters during a press conference at a Deepavali get-together at Perkampungan Juru on Oct 28.