Details as to frequency and fares have yet to be finalised, but the Welsh airport was among a number of new destinations – and the only one in the UK – confirmed by the airline at a press briefing at Dubai’s Arabian Travel Market.

The new flight will be Cardiff’s first scheduled route to the Middle East and was described by the airport as “a game changer”.

Deb Barber, Cardiff airport chief executive, said: “I am immensely proud that Qatar Airways has chosen Cardiff airport to operate its new service to Doha. It is fantastic that we will now be able to offer our customers more choice of travel with a world-class airline providing easy connections to destinations across the world.

“More than 1 million passengers per year from our region are travelling to destinations that are on the Qatar Airways network. Over 90% of these passengers are currently travelling via London and this new service will give them the opportunity to fly more conveniently from Cardiff, their local airport.

“It has been a long journey to get to this stage, with discussions spanning a number of years. Over the coming months we will work with the team at Qatar Airways to confirm the details of the service and look forward to the flights being on sale in the near future.”

Cardiff airport recorded 1.35 million passengers in the 12 months to the end of March, a year on year increase of 11%.