In October 2015, following on the visit to Qatar of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh as the Global Ambassador for the prevention of blindness, Qatar Airways became the official partner airline of Orbis UK. To date Orbis staff and volunteers have benefitted from more than 100 free flights to deliver us to our programmes.
Qatar Airways Group
Since 2012, the Qatar Airways Group has been supporting Orbis and raising awareness in many ways. Qatar Airways has been voted the World’s Best Airline for the seventh time at the 2022 World Airline Awards.
Official Airline
Airport Support
In addition to the airline's support, over the years, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, the Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, has extended the support to Orbis through Hamad International Airport, as well as Qatar Executive and Qatar Aviation Services.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh and His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker - 2015
On the occasion of World Sight Day 2014, Hamad International Airport supported an awareness campaign by displaying visuals on the arrival and departure screens. A year later, the airport helped us launch a new fundraising campaign with Qatar Charity, unveiled with Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh.
Since our first visit in 2012, His Excellency has also been providing the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital with free landing, parking and ground handling services whenever we land in Qatar. The visits of the aircraft have enabled us to host hundreds of VIP guests on-board to raise vital awareness of our work. We have also been able to brand the entrance of the Premium Terminal on multiple occasions, increasing our visibility.
In 2018, Orbis landed to engage a global audience during the inaugural Doha Healthcare week of the World Innovation Summit for Health. The Qatar Airways team facilitated the access of more than 500 guests to the aircraft, from over 50 different countries, 80 organisations, and seven embassies - UK, US, India, France, Vietnam, Canada, Austria - who toured our one of a kind training facility. We were also able to to lead, on board the aircraft, a series of workshops and simulations for Qatar's medical professionals.
On this occasion Hamad International Airport also hosted an Orbis booth. With more than two million passengers travelling through the hub every month, the platform encouraged the airport’s passengers to discover more about Orbis and the Qatar Creating Vision initiative funded by the Qatar Fund for Development.
