TEHRAN – Qatar Airways, the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar, has increased its Doha-Shiraz flights from four times to seven times a week.

“International flights to and from Shiraz came to a four-month halt over the coronavirus fears…. Qatar Airways on Tir 27 (July 17) restarted its [Doha] Shiraz flights in a four-times-a-week timeline. However, the airline has extended the flight schedule to seven times a week,” Reza Badieifard, the director of Shiraz airports, said on Saturday.

All passengers coming to Shiraz airports must observe the defined health protocols and provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test not more than 92 hours before boarding, the official explained.

Passenger traffic at Iranian airports was plunged by 80 percent in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20) in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which also resulted in a decrease of 70 percent and 79 percent respectively in the number of flights and cargo transport, according to data collected by Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company.

AFM/MG