CWL was always going to be a marginal route for QR, but there could've been more economic desires between Wales and Qatar along with the route.
RedDragon makes a good point. The majority of people using the route were connecting to Australia & New Zealand, and there's no sign of that demand returning just yet.
I've done a comparison of passenger numbers vs BHX and EDI. Although EDI started at 5 weekly, with CWL at 7 weekly, CWL actually carried more passengers in it's first year. With the right frequency and continued growth I would've expected CWL to break the 100-110k passenger figure in 2020. Obviously Covid has decimated any potential to grow in the short term, or even make the route viable over the coming months.
If true, and it certainly appears that way, it makes sense for CWL to at least be suspended. A return, if at all, in 2022 makes sense.
Also lets not forget that QR operated to quite a few smaller demand and marginal Airports across the world. What we don't know is where CWL falls in comparison to other worldwide Airports. If anything the UK market is one that will likely recover quicker, with people craving to go on holiday and also travel the world to see family and friends that they've missed out on seeing in 2020 and even 2021, especially in Australia/NZ.
