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Qatar Airways reports $1.2B in profits after ferrying passengers to last year’s soccer World Cup

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar Airways on Wednesday reported US$1.2 billion in profits over the past year, buoyed by its role in ferrying fans to the soccer World Cup.

The long-haul airline increased its revenue to US$21 billion, a 45% increase over the previous year, it said. Its yearly passenger load reached 31.7 million, a 71% increase.

The airline said it transported 1.4 million passengers to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It also expanded its network to more than 160 destinations.

Qatar Airways operates out of a gleaming new airport in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and competes with long-haul carriers Emirates and Ettihad, which operate out of the nearby United Arab Emirates.

Qatar Airways made it through the pandemic’s hardest months with a $3 billion lifeline from the Qatari government. Its main competitor, Dubai’s flagship Emirates Airline, also received a multibillion-dollar payment by the Dubai government during the pandemic. The two airlines serve as economic mainstays for their respective countries, which rely heavily on tourists and transit passengers.

The Qatari airline’s brand is familiar to European soccer fans, where it has partnerships with FC Bayern Munchen and Paris Saint-Germain. In the United States, it has a brand partnership with the Brooklyn Nets.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021