Qatar Airways will resume three weekly flights to Helsinki on 29 July, to operate 22 weekly flights to the Nordic region, with daily flights to Oslo and Stockholm and five weekly flights to Copenhagen, the airline said in a press release.

With the resumption of passenger flights to Helsinki, the airline will operate 39 weekly flights to the Nordic region, providing more than 1,400 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way.

The airline mentioned that its logistics arm Qatar Airways Cargo operated scheduled freighters, charters and freight-only passenger aircraft to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Helsinki amidst the pandemic to transport essential medical supplies and PPE to the region.

Due to COVID-19’s impact on travel demand, the airline said it made the decision to ground its fleet of Airbus A380s as it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market. The Helsinki route will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A350-900s, the press release stated.

“We are glad to see Helsinki return to our network, a significant indicator of the recovery of the Nordic travel market. With a total of 22 weekly flights to the region we are delighted to be the first Gulf carrier to offer flights to the four Nordic capitals of Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm,” expressed Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, in a statement. 

By August, the airline expects close to 500 weekly flights to over 75 destinations, the release noted, adding that passengers from Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm can connect to Africa, Asia and the Middle East via Hamad International Airport.