It had been hoped Qatar Airways would launch a daily service from Cardiff on May 1.
But now the BBC reports there will be a reduced service at first.
Qatar Airways will now be flying five times a week (daily except Monday and Thursday) until at least June 18.
The delay has been caused by the late delivery of the Airbus A350-1000 for which Qatar Airways is launch customer. Its delivery had been expected to take place early this year.
First A350-1000 gets delayed until early next year
Qatar Airways was intending to start the Cardiff service with B787 aircraft. But the latter will now be needed elsewhere on its network before the A350-1000 arrives.
In the meantime readers who have booked flights from Cardiff on the affected dates must contact the airline for clarification and rebooking. It especially applies to those of you who will have onward connections from Doha.
Gaining Qatar Airways was quite an achievement for the Welsh airport.
It is believed to be the first time that Cardiff has enjoyed daily scheduled long-haul service. And the airport’s website enthusiastically promotes the wide range of destinations that Qatar Airways will be able to offer.
Until now, unless they travelled to London or Bristol, Welsh travellers flying long-haul would have routed via mainland Europe and usually with Air France (Flybe is the connecting carrier to Paris CDG) and Dutch airline KLM.
It is not the first time that aircraft delivery delays have impacted Qatar Airways’ schedules.
Readers may recall that late deliveries from Boeing’s B787 impacted on Qatar Airways’ schedules.
