‘FIFA World Cup 2022 fans will have a seamless experience at HIA, Doha International Airport’

CATHERINE W GICHUKI DOHA Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airport will have a combined capacity of over 18,000 spectators who will be pr...

CATHERINE W GICHUKIDOHA Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airport will have a combined capacity of over 18,000 spectators who will be processed in a short period of time during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker has said.Al Baker was responding to questions during a press conference to announce Qatar Airways’ partnership with GCC carriers including flydubai, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, and Saudia to launch Match Day Shuttle Flights, which will transport football fans from Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE through Doha International Airport in a 24-hour seamless experience.Al Baker said, “Doha International Airport will be processing over 5,000 to 6,000 people depending on the amount of frequency that will come because this relates to airspace. “Hamad International Airport will be able to process between 8,000 and 10,000 but all this depends on the capacity of the airspace capacity and the performance of the airlines that have requested the timing to operate. “There will be no room left when you are tailor-making the capacity, for instance, for delay and for holding times because there will be flights that will come ahead of time.”He said that civil aviation authorities are already enhancing the airspace capacity in order to increase the intake of the three runways that will be operated simultaneously during the FIFA World Cup.According to him, Qatar Airways will make room for traffic from the tournament’s participating countries. “In addition, Qatar Airways is re-timing nearly 70% of its frequencies in order to flatten our arrival and departure banks in order to create room at Hamad International Airport in addition to what is already available at Doha International Airport and also allow our colleagues to operate in and out of Doha during the tournament.”He said the partnership with the GCC will be about complementing each other by bringing as many frequencies as possible to Doha. “Each airline will have their own pricing, but each airline has committed to developing pricing strategies to encourage spectators from each of those countries to come in large numbers.”Talking about the seamless experience that Passengers who book one of the Match Day Shuttle services will benefit from, Al Baker said, “You will have your booking, match ticket and fan ID which will allow you for the first time to process your biometrics and then all subsequent flights in and out, you will walk straight through the immigration as though you are coming as a domestic passenger within the GCC. And for the people coming from outside the GCC, there will be smart processes in order to come out seamlessly through the state -of-the art immigration system that is being introduced by MoI.”Eng. Yasir Al Jamal, Director General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said that the capacity and facilities that are available in both airports will be the most efficient way to enter Qatar. “After that, there will be shuttle buses dedicated for those groups that will come through the shuttle flights to take them to different hubs either in metro stations or directly to the stadiums which will be scheduled throughout the tournament.”