Qatar Airways earns highest Diamond Standard status in Global Apex Health Safety

DOHA, Jan 13 -- Qatar Airways announced Tuesday that it has achieved Diamond Standard in the Airline Passenger Experience Associations (APEX) Health Safety Powered by SimpliFlying audit.

The Diamond Standard status, which is the highest level attainable, was announced by APEX and global aviation marketing consultancy, SimpliFlying, following a meticulous assessment of the airlines robust COVID-19 hygiene and safety standards, Qatar news agency (QNA) reported.

Commenting on the occasion, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: "As an industry leader, we welcome the further recognition of Qatar Airways commitment to providing the most rigorous and stringent virus monitoring, detection and COVID-19 safety programme throughout our end-to-end passenger experience, in existence within the global aviation community."

"The awarding of the APEX Health Safety Diamond Standard was the result of a thorough and extensive independent audit of the airlines comprehensive COVID-19 protection and prevention measures, both on board and at Hamad International Airport, and reinforces the fact that air travel does not need to be a source of concern to passengers," Al Baker continued.

"As commercial aviation continues to deal with the challenges and impact of the global pandemic, we welcome the introduction of this and other relevant COVID-related hygiene and safety reviews, and would encourage other airlines to continue to build passenger confidence and assist with the recovery of the industry by participating wherever possible," he said.

APEX Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joe Leader said: "Qatar Airways COVID-19 protocols definitively met the highest marks for the Diamond certification level backed by their extraordinary steps for customer safety. The actions taken by Qatar appear centered around a singular philosophy: how can we innovatively maximize both our customer service and passenger safety hand-in-hand."

-- BERNAMA