Today Qatar Airways received for the sixth time the coveted SkyTrax 'Airline of the Year' amongst many other awards. Nowadays, it is hard not to think of Qatar Airways when talking about Qatar, yet it was not always so. So I would like to dwell a little on aviation history of Qatar.
The image below, shows that aviation in Qatar began, long before Qatar Airways was one of the few 5 Star airlines of the world.
In fact, it began even before Gulf Air was around. Aviation was a key component of the fast developing oil industry in the region, and so it is no surprise that some of the first aircraft to operated in Qatar (other than the British Air Force) were cargo aircraft bringing and taking heavy essential equipment, required for the oil industry.
The first stamp issue totally devoted to aviation, celebrates the first flight between Doha and London by Gulf Air, in April 1970. The set was issued three days prior to the similar issue from Bahrain celebrating its first connection to London. Remember that Gulf Air although its roots are from Bahrain, was founded as a partnership between Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman.
However, these were not the first stamps linked to aviation issued by Qatar. That honour goes to the 1965 definitive series in which a Kuwait Airlines de Havilland DH 106 Comet can be seen at Doha Airport. Interesting to point out, that Qatar Airways first flight was on the 20th of January 1994 using a wet leased 767-200ER from Kuwait Airlines.
The second stamp issued linked to aviation was in 1968 celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Postal Service. The stamp (see below) shows a messenger riding a camel, and in the background a white silhouette of what appears to be a BAC VC-10 flying above a city.
A year latter, in a set devoted to 'Progress in Qatar Industry and Education' we can see an aircraft at a model airport, while another flies overhead.
One year later, 1970, we can observe a Boeing B707 from MEA airlines at Doha Airport. I shall expand on the possible significance of MEA airlines on a Qatar on a future post.
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These were not the first stamps linked to aviation in the region. In fact aviation in the Middle East has a long and distinguished history, worth a book in itself. But below I show a few of the neighbouring countries stamp issues prior to Qatar's own, devoted to aviation. As, can be seen below, the world largest plane was depicted in some of these stamps. Likewise, and on another post, I shall describe the history of the connection of the worlds fastest airliner ever (the Concorde) to Qatar and the region.
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