Qatar Airways expects to re-open routes this month

[May 06, 2020]  DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar Airways on Wednesday said it will start expanding its network this month in anticipation of countries easing travel restrictions that have halted global aviation.

The state-owned carrier has been one of few airlines to continue with scheduled operations throughout the coronavirus crisis, maintaining flights to around 30 destinations.

Qatar Airways is aiming to be flying to as many as 52 destinations by the end of May and to 80 destinations in June, it said in a statement.

That included 33 in Asia-Pacific, 23 in Europe, 20 across the Middle East and Africa, and four in the Americas, many of which have banned foreigners from entering.

Flights would be added gradually, the airline said, based on its monitoring of global passenger flows and booking trends.

Qatar Airways said it expected short-haul travel to rebound first and business travel between large global cities to return gradually.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine Hardcastle)

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