Qatar Airways (QR) Group announced on May 20, 2026, a post-tax profit of QAR 7.08 billion (US $1.94 billion) for the financial year 2025/26, demonstrating that the Doha-based flag carrier maintained remarkable financial discipline even as a geopolitical crisis — rooted in the US-Israel-Iran conflict — forced the closure of Qatari airspace in the final weeks of the fiscal period. The results were disclosed Doha, the city where Hamad International Airport (DOH), \the airline’s sole hub lies, and the results were accompanied by the simultaneous release of the Group’s 2026 Annual Report.
Underpinning the profit figure was an operating profit of QAR 15.2 billion (US $4.1 billion) — the highest in the Group’s history, achieved in a year that also saw the airline sign a $96 billion fleet expansion deal with Boeing and GE Aerospace, retain the Skytrax World’s Best Airline title for an unprecedented ninth consecutive time, and cement its position as the world’s dominant international air cargo carrier. The 57,800-strong workforce, spread across more than 90 countries, delivered these results while simultaneously managing one of the most acute operational disruptions in the carrier’s three-decade history.
Qatar Airways’ Historic $1.94 Billion Profit
Qatar Airways Group’s post-tax profit of US $1.94 billion for FY2025/26 was driven by an operating revenue base that expanded 3.7% year-on-year, reaching QAR 15.2 billion (US $4.1 billion) in operating profit. The pre-tax profit for the year stood at QAR 7.8 billion (US $2.1 billion), with the post-tax figure reflecting Qatar’s implementation of the OECD Pillar Two global minimum corporate tax — a framework requiring large multinationals to pay an effective minimum rate of 15%.
One of the most consequential tailwinds behind the result was a pronounced decline in fuel expenditure. Qatar Airways paid 15.5% less for jet fuel in FY2025/26, with fuel costs falling from QAR 24.4 billion to QAR 20.6 billion year-on-year — a saving of approximately US $978 million. Jet fuel typically constitutes between 15% and 20% of an airline’s total operating costs, making this reduction a material contributor to the record operating profit margin.
The Group closed the fiscal year with a cash and short-term deposit position of QAR 32.7 billion (US $9 billion), though this represented a 22.9% decline from the prior period.
Qatar Airways Cargo Commands 12% of the Global Air Freight Market
The cargo division was among the most decisive contributors to the Group’s financial performance. Qatar Airways Cargo transported more than 1.43 million tonnes of chargeable weight during FY2025/26, maintaining a commanding 12% share of the global air freight market — a figure that no other single carrier approaches. Cargo revenue for FY2026 stood at US $4.45 billion, compared to US $4.92 billion in FY2025.
The total volume of cargo moved by the Group across the full financial year reached more than 2.8 million tonnes, with belly capacity from passenger flights combined with dedicated freighter operations sustaining throughput across major global trade lanes. Air Cargo Week noted that CEO Hamad Al-Khater confirmed the disruption’s consequences remained active as the annual report was published, meaning the cargo division’s full recovery is still in progress as the new fiscal year begins.
What Qatar’s CEO Said and What It Means for Qatar Airways Going Forward
Group CEO Hamad Al-Khater, who succeeded Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer in the role during the fiscal year, addressed the results with conspicuous directness in the official press release. He said:
“It is not often that a single financial year asks an organisation to demonstrate both the best of what it can achieve and the depth of what it can withstand. The 2025/26 financial year did both, and the Qatar Airways Group rose to each in turn.”
Al-Khater also highlighted the human dimension of the recovery effort:
“Behind every result are 57,800 people, working across more than 90 countries. In the final weeks of the financial year, many of them were managing an active crisis with a standard of professionalism that defines this organisation as much as any financial metric.”
On the Group’s forward trajectory, he stated:
“We are actively rebuilding our global network with the confidence that comes from a balance sheet that has never been stronger, partnerships that proved their depth when we needed them most, and an organisation that has demonstrated, under genuine pressure, exactly what it is capable of.”
Qatar Airways’ network rebuild targets more than 160 destinations by summer 2026, supported by the gradual restoration of Qatari airspace under QCAA-approved safe corridor protocols. With a cash and deposits position of US $9 billion, a $96 billion fleet commitment already in place, and the world’s most awarded airline product, the Group enters FY2026/27 from a position of structural strength — irrespective of the geopolitical turbulence that continues to test Gulf aviation at large.
Qatar Airways’ network expansion to Red Sea International Airport (RSI) in Saudi Arabia, inaugurated in October 2025, exemplifies the kind of incremental route development that will continue as the rebuilding effort gains pace.
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