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Pittsburgh airport paying Qatar Airways up to $1.48M for cargo service | TribLIVE.com
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Pittsburgh airport paying Qatar Airways up to $1.48M for cargo service

Theresa Clift
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Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways will start cargo service to Pittsburgh International on Oct. 11, 2017.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority is paying Qatar Airways an incentive of up to $1.48 million for cargo service it launched from the airport last month, the Tribune-Review has learned.

If the incentive exceeds $1 million, it will be the largest one the airport has ever awarded an airline.

The airport first declined to release the amount of the incentive it gave the airline for the twice-weekly service, citing the state's Uniform Trade Secret Act. The Trib filed an appeal with the state's Office of Open Records on Oct. 24, and the airport provided the information Friday.

The amount of the incentive depends partly on whether the airline meets its tonnage goal of 60 tons of cargo per flight.

A one-year agreement between the authority and the airline states the authority will pay the airline $15,500 per flight for the first six months of service.

The incentive for the second six months depends on whether the airline meets its tonnage goals.

If the airline falls short of its goals, the authority will continue to pay $15,500 per flight. If it meets the goals, a new incentive amount will be negotiated, the contract says.

That amount would likely be lower than $15,500 per flight, said Alyson Walls, an airport spokeswoman.

The goals will be checked monthly.

If the airline meets none of its tonnage goals in the second six months, it will end up with a $1.48 million incentive.

The money will come from state gaming revenue or other state grants, Walls said.

The airline plans to transport 200 tons to and from Pittsburgh each week, it announced in a news release. That would be 100 tons per flight.

The authority also spent $1.8 million to buy plane equipment that currently is being used only by Qatar Airways.

Theresa Clift is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-5669, tclift@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tclift.