Benghazi, together with the Ugandan city of Entebbe, are the airline’s latest African destinations launched within the space of two days taking the number of new routes started by the Doha-based carrier this year to 14.

Benghazi is home to numerous industries, including oil refining, food processing, cement production and fishing, which would benefit from the new flights to and from Doha and Qatar Airways’ connecting points across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Qatar Airways is operating an Airbus A320 aircraft, configured with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy on the route.

Qatar Airways is already well established in Libya, despite having to temporarily suspend flights to Tripoli due to the recent political situation, but hopes to resume services in due course.

Qatar Airways will launch its last new route of 2011 on November 28 with services from Doha to the Chinese city of Chongqing.

Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of over 100 aircraft to more than 100 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. The airline has orders worth over US$ 40 billion for more than 200 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s, A320 Family of aircraft and Bombardier corporate jets. The rapid expansion of Qatar Airways prompted the State of Qatar to embark on one of its biggest projects – the construction of a brand new international airport in Doha, which is scheduled to open in 2012.