Qatar Airways named National Airline Partner of IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019

Qatar Airways is set to bring the world of athletics together in Doha after signing an agreement to become the National Airline Partner of the 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships, which takes place from 27 September to 6 October at the air-conditioned Khalifa International Stadium.

Held in the region for the first time, the competition will feature 3,500 elite athletes and officials from 213 countries with an estimated 10,000 international guests, making it the biggest sporting event the Middle East has ever hosted.

Qatar Airways will provide sports fans across the globe with exclusive discounted airfares to visit Qatar during the event to enjoy watching the world’s top athletes compete at the highest level.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to be the National Airline Partner of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. It is my pleasure to see us support the region’s biggest ever sporting event, especially as this will be the first time the championships are held in the Middle East. At Qatar Airways we believe in the importance of sport as a means of bringing people together. This partnership will serve to further establish our commitment to sports with other events in our home country such as the 2022 FIFA World CupTM.”

IAAF Vice President and Director General of IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, Dahlan Al Hamad, said: “Qatar is blessed with a central location that makes the championships easily accessible to fans from all over the world. The partnership with Qatar Airways will allow more fans to attend the elite athletics event and cheer on their sporting heroes.”

“Fans are at the core of any major sporting event, and thanks to Qatar Airways’ impressive and ever-expanding list of destinations, this partnership means more fans can be part of the IAAF World Athletics Championship Doha 2019,” added Al Hamad.

In 2019, Qatar Airways has become the first airline to win the ‘World’s Best Airline’ award five times and within a short period with the other times it has won; showing the airline constancy in providing the best for its passengers. The award was presented at the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business class’ for the fourth successive year, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ for the third successive year, and with Qsuite the ‘World’s Best Business Class Seats’.


Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) to more than 160 destinations worldwide. Qatar Airways has recently launched an array of exciting new destinations, including Rabat, Morocco; Izmir, Turkey; Malta; Davao, Philippines; Lisbon, Portugal; Mogadishu, Somalia, to name just a few. The airline will add Langkawi, Malaysia to its extensive route network in the second half of 2019.