Qatar Airways will stop in Atlanta on a twice-weekly cargo route linking the Middle Eastern nation with Europe and the United States.
Flights into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are expected to begin on Nov. 2.
The route is projected to generate $12 million in annual economic impact on metro Atlanta and create 20 direct and indirect jobs, according to an airport news release.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has made increasing the city’s standing as a logistics hub a hallmark of his economic development strategy. Drawing more international cargo flights into the city-owned airport have been a major goal of that effort.
Mr. Reed met representatives from Qatar Airways and other cargo carriers during the International Air Cargo Association‘s annual meeting in Amsterdam, Netherlands, last November. At the same conference, Hartsfield was named cargo airport of the year for the second straight year by Air Cargo Week.
Qatar, based in the capital city of Doha, will operate Boeing 777 on the route, which will stop in Atlanta, Houston, Luxembourg and Doha.
In 2010, the Atlanta airport handled 17 percent more cargo than the previous year, outpacing 13.2 percent average growth at North American airports, according to the release.
Visit www.atlanta-airport.com for more information.
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