DOHA, Qatar, May 7, 2026, 01:03 (GMT+3)
Qatar Airways is set to begin recruiting workers from Uzbekistan, with an initial 65 candidates to be selected in May and June for roles including flight attendants, engineers and airport staff, Uzbek state media reported. The plan could later expand to as many as 1,600 Uzbek specialists for aviation jobs at the carrier.
The move lands at a sensitive moment for Qatar’s flag carrier. Qatar Airways is rebuilding parts of its network after months of schedule disruption, while SimpleFlying reported that schedule data showed the airline’s U.S. flights in the second quarter of 2026 had been cut by 49% from a year earlier, with more than 1,300 fewer flights.
That makes labour supply more than a diplomatic talking point. Qatar Airways has said its summer schedule will expand to more than 150 destinations from June 16, but the airline has also warned passengers that schedules may change or be cancelled for operational, regulatory or safety reasons.
The recruitment agreement followed a series of talks in Doha involving Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency, its Foreign Ministry and the Uzbek embassy in Qatar, according to Uzbek reports. The talks covered labour needs in medicine, tourism, aviation and information technology, as well as targeted training courses in Uzbekistan to match Qatari employer requirements.
Qatar’s state news agency said Minister of Labour Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al Marri met Bekhzod Musaev, chairman of Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency, on May 4 to discuss stronger labour-sector cooperation between the two countries. The Peninsula, citing QNA, said the meeting focused on workforce collaboration and labour migration frameworks.
A separate aviation track involved Qatar Airways Vice President Fathi Atti, Uzbek media reported. The longer-term project would target university-educated specialists in piloting, mechanics, electrical engineering and general engineering, with the workers intended for Qatar Airways roles.
Qatar and Uzbekistan also agreed to set up a broader labour channel. Uzbek reports said an “Uzbekistan–Qatar Labor Forum” with more than 50 Qatari employers is planned for Tashkent in September 2026 after talks with Abdulhadi Barqan, head of Jusour, Qatar’s state employment organisation. YuzNews
The competitive backdrop is tight. Emirates, Qatar Airways’ main Gulf hub rival in Dubai, announced a hiring drive last year for 17,300 staff in the financial year ending March 2026, covering cabin crew, pilots, engineers and ground-services roles, Reuters reported.
There are still gaps. The reports did not give pay bands, visa terms, training dates or a firm hiring timetable for the larger 1,600-person pipeline, and the first confirmed batch is small against the scale of Qatar Airways’ network ambitions.
Qatar Airways is also still pacing its route restoration. In its latest network release, the airline said passenger flights to Baghdad, Basra and Erbil would resume on May 10, while cargo-only freighter services to Baghdad would restart on May 7.
For Uzbekistan, the deal offers a structured route into higher-skilled overseas employment. For Qatar Airways, it gives access to a new labour pool at a time when aircraft, routes and airspace are only part of the recovery problem. The harder test is whether 65 candidates can become a repeatable pipeline.
