Qatar Duty Free and Doha International Airport named best in Middle East at inaugural aviation business awards

The awards, presented on the sidelines of the Dubai Air Show, acknowledged the performance of different travel industry sectors during the year.

Qatar Duty Free Deputy General Manager Krishna Kumari collected the best duty free operator award, while Doha International Airport's head of commercial Ahmed Al Mahmoud picked up the accolade on behalf of the airport.

Both Qatar Duty Free and Doha International Airport are operated and managed by Qatar Airways, whose Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker praised the two organisations for their sterling efforts.

"It is indeed a great honour to have such prestigious awards bestowed on Qatar Duty Free and Doha International Airport, which have been determined to be the best of the best in their respective areas of operation," he said.

"The Aviation Business Awards demonstrate the effort and determination of both Qatar Duty Free and Doha International Airport in making them rise above the competition."

Qatar Duty Free has been enjoying significant growth year on year, helped by a ramping up of its presence in the departures and arrivals area at Doha International Airport, the airline's operational hub. This year alone, Qatar Duty Free has grown more than 64 per cent over the previous 12 months.

Doha International Airport, which currently handles more than 10 million passengers a year, has undergone a dramatic change over the past three years, virtually doubling in size to cope with the huge demand for air travel to and from Qatar, which has been spearheaded by the huge infrastructure improvements taking place in the country.