Qatar Airways Cargo has increased its capacity in the past weeks leading to Valentine's Day to meet a "significant demand" for the transport of flowers in this peak season period.
In a statement, the cargo carrier noted that over 4,000 tonnes of flowers were transported all around the world over a two-week period leading to February 14.
"To satisfy the significant demand during this peak time, Qatar Airways Cargo is intensifying the frequency of its flights to increase capacity," it said.
"This translates into 10 additional B777 freighter flights from Nairobi to Liege and 10 additional flights from Quito to Amsterdam and Miami, on top of the regular cargo and passenger flights," Qatar Airways Cargo added.
The carrier noted that flowers are mainly exported from two main areas: Latin America (Ecuador and Colombia) and Africa (Uganda and Kenya).
The flowers are then transported to 5 major international destinations: the USA, Amsterdam (for distribution across Europe), Australia, the Middle East and Japan.
Aside from adding capacity, Qatar Airways Cargo said that it is also using road transport services from European airports to Amsterdam, where logistics are set up for major consumer countries.
The air freight carrier said ensuring that this fragile cargo is handled with the utmost care and delivered on time requires not only a great deal of planning and preparation but also a very high degree of expertise and experience.
"Qatar Airways Cargo has indeed been involved in the transportation of flowers from Nairobi for over 10 years and will be the largest cargo operator there by Valentine's Day 2023," it added, noting that the carrier also implemented an elaborate temperature-controlled forwarding system to guarantee that flowers arrive fresh at their final destination.
"In a constantly evolving market, Qatar Airways Cargo has always been able to improve its offering to meet new needs. The launch of The Next Generation, which is accompanied by a new vision of the business, is proof of this," commented Guillaume Halleux, chief officer of cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo.
