Doha: The award-winning Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Airways Group, prepares 200,000 meals per day on average, serving the national carrier as well as several other global airlines operating from Doha.
QACC not only provides in-flight catering for Qatar Airways and other carriers, but it also provides catering for hub lounges as well as Amiri flights and ad hoc VVIP flights, according to Qatar Airways Group annual report 2023-24. QACC was launched in August 2002 at Doha International Airport.
The catering company occupies an impressive 69,000 square metre purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility at Hamad International Airport (HIA). It is the largest single-building airline catering unit in the world.
“Providing on average 200,000 meals from more than 70 international cuisines, QACC has played an instrumental role in the Group’s consistent international recognition – most notably earning the prestigious titles of ‘Global Best Food & Beverage’ in the 2024 APEX Awards and ‘Best In-flight Food & Beverage’ in the 2023 Business Traveller Awards,” the report said.
As part of its commitment towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility, QACC donated more than 110,000 portions of dry foods and condiments, and more than 75,000 blankets and duvets to people in need around the globe. It also recycled more than 3,000 tonnes of solid waste during 2023/24, reducing waste going to landfills while generating revenue through sales of the recycled waste. “These achievements speak volumes of QACC’s unrelenting drive towards environmental sustainability excellence, and its ambitious goal of zero waste to landfill by 2030.”
To serve passengers from around the globe with varying diets and cuisines, QACC relies on a very diverse international team comprising 40 nationalities.
During the 2023/24 fiscal year, as the Group continued to expand its global partnerships, QACC welcomed Xiamen Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and China Southern Airlines as its latest strategic partners further solidifying its programme of operational expansion, the report said.
The company has also been focusing on talent development through programmes such as a tailored six-month Supervisory Skills Programme and Language Proficiency Workshops, both of which were developed in-house. This was in addition to the introduction of long service and loyalty milestone celebration initiatives.
QACC’s competency and expertise were further recognised with its continued success in obtaining re-certification of FSSC22000 V5.1, ISO 22000:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 9001:2015; while being the first in the industry to achieve IATA IEnvA Certification, the report said.
Qatar Airways recently announced a new catering partnership with gategroup to elevate inflight dining. The partnership will see collaboration on passenger dining experiences, sourcing and procurement, healthy eating, as well as sustainability.
