CHONGQING - Gulf carrier Qatar Airways has set up an office in Chongqing and has started offering Doha-Chongqing flights, the first direct air link between southwest China and the Middle East, the Chongqing government reported Friday.

Qatar Airways now operates flights between Qatar's capital Doha and Chongqing three times a week and plans to increase the service to five times a week this year, said a market specialist with Qatar's Chongqing office.

He said Qatar will also set up a call center in Chongqing this June to deal with requests concerning the carrier's China market services.

A booming carrier, Qatar operated a fleet of 106 aircraft serving more than 112 destinations around the globe as of late March. The carrier began setting up offices in China in 2008, and currently includes Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing in its global network.