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Blockaded Qatar flies in dairy herds, expands into eastern Europe
BELEAGURED Qatar Airways has announced that it is airlifting herds of dairy cattle to provide milk in the face of a blockade by angry Arab neighbours upset with the extremely rich - per capita income, US$72,000 pa - country's defiant independent airs, reports Bloomberg.
A first shipment of 165 cows, sourced from Germany and flying via Budapest, are ready to produce milk immediately and the product should reach local markets this week, according to the importer, Power International Holding.
The airline also announced the launch of its new direct service to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, with seven weekly flights beginning August 28, reports Hawaii's eTurboNews.
Qatar, subject of a crippling blockade by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, is expanding in Eastern Europe with service to Skopje, the Macedonian capital, and Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker: "Our new service to Kiev is part of our expedited expansion plans. We are delighted to be able to unlock this gateway to Eastern Europe."
The route will be served by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in business class and 132 seats in economy.
The cows are the first batch of 4,000 dairy cattle to be flown into Qatar five weeks after the start of a Saudi Arabia-led boycott of the Gulf country.
Other shipments will include cows from Australia and the US, and should arrive every three days, the company spokesman said. In total, the bovine airlift is expected to bring in the 4,000 cows within about a month.
Led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar has been accused of supporting Islamic militants, charges the sheikdom has repeatedly denied. It has also upset Arab social conservatives with its free-wheeling global television station Aljazeera. The boycott that started on June 5 has disrupted trade, split families and threatened to alter long-standing geopolitical alliances.
Until last month, most of the fresh milk and dairy products for Qatar's population of 2.7 million was imported from Saudi Arabia. When all the cattle purchased by Power International chairman Moutaz Al Khayyat are flown in, his brand of milk will supply about 30 per cent of the country's needs, he said in an interview last month.
A first shipment of 165 cows, sourced from Germany and flying via Budapest, are ready to produce milk immediately and the product should reach local markets this week, according to the importer, Power International Holding.
The airline also announced the launch of its new direct service to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, with seven weekly flights beginning August 28, reports Hawaii's eTurboNews.
Qatar, subject of a crippling blockade by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, is expanding in Eastern Europe with service to Skopje, the Macedonian capital, and Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker: "Our new service to Kiev is part of our expedited expansion plans. We are delighted to be able to unlock this gateway to Eastern Europe."
The route will be served by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in business class and 132 seats in economy.
The cows are the first batch of 4,000 dairy cattle to be flown into Qatar five weeks after the start of a Saudi Arabia-led boycott of the Gulf country.
Other shipments will include cows from Australia and the US, and should arrive every three days, the company spokesman said. In total, the bovine airlift is expected to bring in the 4,000 cows within about a month.
Led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar has been accused of supporting Islamic militants, charges the sheikdom has repeatedly denied. It has also upset Arab social conservatives with its free-wheeling global television station Aljazeera. The boycott that started on June 5 has disrupted trade, split families and threatened to alter long-standing geopolitical alliances.
Until last month, most of the fresh milk and dairy products for Qatar's population of 2.7 million was imported from Saudi Arabia. When all the cattle purchased by Power International chairman Moutaz Al Khayyat are flown in, his brand of milk will supply about 30 per cent of the country's needs, he said in an interview last month.
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