Despite the ongoing illegal siege of the country, Qatar Airways has not slowed down its expansion spree to all parts of the world.

Just the other day, Qatar Airways launched its first flight to Da Nang, Vietnam. Qatar Airways Group’s CEO Akbar Al Baker was quite bullish about the airlines’ future expansion and highlighted their ‘robust’ plans.

He was also vocal about Qatar Airways’ commitment to bringing more travellers to Vietnam and connecting Da Nang to its extensive global network via the Hamad International Airport (HIA).

“We’re thrilled to launch our new four-times-weekly flights to Da Nang, our third destination in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The popularity of the other two routes convinced us that there was scope for further expansion in Vietnam. Da Nang, which has experienced a significant boost in development over the last decade, is fast becoming a popular tourist destination,” he was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.

Qatar Airways began direct services to Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 and launched its Hanoi service in 2010. The airline currently provides twice-daily direct flights to Vietnam’s capital city and ten times weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City.

In October 2017, Qatar Airways had announced its interline partnership with Vietnam-based Vietjet Air, allowing Qatar Airways passengers to travel to and from points in Vietnam not served directly by Qatar Airways using a single reservation across both airlines’ networks, reported Qatar Tribune.

Da Nang has seen a significant increase in its number of visitors, with a record-breaking 6.6m tourists in 2017, doubling the figure in 2013. In 2015, the New York Times also listed Da Nang among the top 52 places to visit.