Qatar Airways has announced plans to extend its presence in China with the launch of flights to a fifth gateway – the western city of Chongqing from November 28th.

Operating three-times-a-week, the non-stop service from the airline’s hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, will take the carrier’s capacity to China up to 28 flights a week.

The airline already operates daily non-stop flights from Doha to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou and four-flights-a-week to Beijing.

The new Chongqing services will be operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class Business and Economy configuration.

With a population of just over 30 million people, Chongqing has a large industrial catchment area and is a prime example of Qatar Airways placing strategic importance into emerging cities around the world.

Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is one of the biggest airports in western China serving a large domestic market with limited international flights.

Global access is typically via Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai.

Chongqing is a major manufacturing centre and a key transportation hub located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, a vitally important shipping waterway in China. With Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, it is also one of only four municipalities in China which report directly to the national government.

Announcing the new route, Qatar Airways chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “China is clearly one of the world’s most important countries on the international stage, being a pacesetter in manufacturing and helping transform the global economic landscape.”

Qatar Airways now flies to over 100 diverse business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet of 98 aircraft.

In 2010 Qatar Airways was recognised as the Middle East’s Leading Airlines Business Class by the prestigious World Travel Awards.