The first Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Canberra, the capital city of Australia, touched down at Canberra Airport earlier, where it was welcomed with a celebratory water cannon salute.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to be expanding its reach in Australia by launching our fifth gateway into this beautiful country.

“In 2016, we launched flights to Sydney and Adelaide, clearly demonstrating our commitment to the people of Australia.

“We are extremely happy to be offering our loyal Australian passengers the chance to explore the newest and most exciting destinations we have added to our global network in the past year, including many European cities such as Dublin, Kyiv, Prague and St. Petersburg.”

Qatar Airways will operate its daily Canberra service with a Boeing B777 aircraft, which features 42 flatbed seats in business and 316 seats in economy class.

Passengers will be able to enjoy the airline’s superior entertainment system offering a wide variety of entertainment options.

With the airline launching a new daily service to Canberra, its fifth destination in Australia, the total cargo capacity out of the Australian continent has increased to more than 630 tonnes per week.