Seamless immigration, security processing for overseas football fans arriving on shuttle flights: Al-Baker
Four GCC carriers – flydubai, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air and Saudi Arabian (Saudia) – will operate some 168 daily shuttle flights to Doha International Airport under the Match Day Shuttle Flights.
Flydubai will operate up to 60 daily flights from Dubai carrying up to 2,500 fans, while Oman Air will run up to 48 daily flights from Muscat carrying up to 3,400 fans. Kuwait Airways will run up to 20 flights a day from Kuwait City carrying up to 1,700 fans.
Saudia will operate up to 40 daily flights carrying up to 10,000 fans from Riyadh and Jeddah.
Etihad and Air Arabia may join the GCC airlines agreement to organise shuttle service to Qatar during FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The shuttle service will help overseas fans avoid lodgings in Qatar. “Like anywhere else there has always been a shortage of accommodation, so we are not unique. The biggest challenge for us is because everything is happening in one place,” Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive HE Akbar al-Baker said.
All the shuttle flights would be reserved for fans with World Cup tickets and who have carried out special registration, including biometric details.
HE al-Baker promised “seamless” immigration and security processing that would see them treated as though they were arriving on a domestic flight.
The new partnership between the GCC national carriers was sealed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here yesterday.
HE al-Baker, Yasir al-Jamal, Ghaith al-Ghaith, Maen Mahmoud Razouqi, Abdulaziz al-Raisi, and Captain Ibrahim S Koshy were the main attendees at the event.
In September 2021, Qatar Airways launched unique travel packages, inclusive of match tickets, return flights and accommodation options. Fans can guarantee their match tickets to support their favourite team during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 by visiting qatarairways.com/FIFA2022
The tournament will be held across eight world-class stadiums which are designed to inspire the various symbols of Qatari and Arab culture. Al Bayt Stadium will host the opening game with a capacity of 60,000 seats, while Lusail Stadium is set to host the final match of the tournament, with a capacity of 80,000 seats.
The remaining stadiums will house 40,000 spectators. These include: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Janoub Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Education City Stadium, Stadium 974 and Al Thumama Stadium.