Shuttle flights between various GCC cities and Doha were announced last week, with five airlines pledging to provide a significant number of additional return journeys every day of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
These flights, which have significantly brought the cost of flying to Doha during the tournament down, are only available for World Cup ticket holders.
Alan Holt, managing director of Expat Sport, told Arabian Business that the news of the shuttle service was good news for the fans and will help alleviate accommodation concerns in Doha during the mega-event.
Further to the recent announcements regarding daily flights between UAE and Doha – is this good news for fan?
Definitely! Fans from, and based, in the UAE can fly over in the morning, potentially watch two games of world class football and take a one-hour flight back. This has never been the case in any other FIFA World Cup before.
What impact will this have on ticket sales?
Since the announcements came out last week we have been inundated with ticket and flight requests. We have already booked the highest number of people from the UAE to be attending a world cup ever and we expect this number to at least double between now and the start of the tournament on the 21st of November.
To clarify there are two ways that members of the public can buy tickets. Standard grandstand tickets are available through the FIFA lottery system on FIFA.com or people can purchase official MATCH Hospitality packages which including 4-hours of food & beverages including alcohol and a category 1 seat (best vantage point in the stadiums) from us, the exclusive agent for the UAE, Expat Sport.
To get on flights fans will need to show their Hayya card at check-in. The Hayya card works as the fan ID and visa to enter the country and they will need to register for these with both their flight and ticket details. People will not be permitted to board without this.
Is this the right decision in terms of accommodation?
With the opening-up of daily shuttle flight service this means that UAE-based fans might not need to stay over in Doha which therefore naturally releases up the Doha accommodation for longer stay international visitors.
How is this going to ensure the success of the tournament?
In my opinion there are two main reasons that define the success of any world cup – great football and a fantastic fan experience. The flight shuttle type service will no doubt help operationally with the volume of fans descending upon Doha, particularly during the group stages, which should help create a smoother experience for fans travelling between the two countries.
How will you accommodate fans to get there and back?
Expat Sport will have an experienced operations team stationed in Qatar to ensure our customers get to the venue smoothly and on time and most importantly also are taken back to the airport within plenty of time for their return flight.
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