aTP- Arab tourism portal- QATAR Airways (QA) has signed the United for Wildlife Transport Industry Declaration at Buckingham Palace in the presence of HRH The Duke of Cambridge and The Rt Hon the Lord Hague of Richmond.
Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo Ulrich Ogiermann attended the ceremony to sign the declaration, which focuses on the illegal trade in African elephants, rhinos, some big cats and pangolins, that originates from and transits through East Africa.
“We are proud to be part of this initiative that recognises the need to protect endangered species from illegal trade and transportation,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar al Baker.
“It is important that we work together as an industry to prevent violations of the regulations that have been put in place to safeguard these animals and to adopt a zero tolerance policy regarding illegal wildlife trade.
As one of the world’s leading airlines, serving customers across six continents, we acknowledge our responsibility to society, to the community and to the environment; therefore we have a strict policy governing the types of animals and animal products that are banned for carriage on board QA.”
The United for Wildlife declaration, which is supported by the International Air Transport Association, commits the participating airlines to increase passenger, customer, client, and staff awareness about the nature, scale, and consequences of illegal wildlife trade.
It will also develop mechanisms to enable the transport sector to receive and share timely information about the transport of suspected illegal wildlife and their products, including methods of transportation, key routes, ports and other locations. QA was one of a small group of aviation industry leaders invited to attend the signing ceremony in London.
