Five Middle Eastern airlines, including Qatar Airways, flydubai, Saudia, Kuwait Airways, and Oman Air, have announced that they will be offering special shuttle flights to Doha during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 later this year.
These flights, which are only available for FIFA ticket holders, will also allow fans to visit Qatar to watch a match and then leave on the same day.
In addition, the airlines are working together to reduce friction for fans traveling for the tournament, and increase capacity.
“This is the first time in the history of FIFA where there is one country that is hosting a tournament were a spectator can watch more than one match in a day, where all the matches are going to be played in one city, very close to each other, and give the spectators the opportunity to maximise the investment that [a fan] is making to come to this FIFA world tournament by watching more than one match at a time and this opportunity will never come back again … this is a once in the lifetime opportunity,” Akbar Al Baker, Group CEO of Qatar Airways said.
The CEOs of Qatar Airways, Saudia, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, and flydubai were all present during the announcement.
“We are delighted to be here as we come together as a region as we showcase to the world our warm hospitality and rich heritage as water hosts the first ever world cup in the Middle East and Arab world,” flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said. Flydubai intends for its shuttle service for the World Cup to operate out of Dubai World Central airport.
The shuttle services announcement will enable football fans to move freely from the UAE, watch a football match in Doha, and then later return the same day, the CEOs explained.
Abdulaziz Al Raisi, CEO, Oman Air explained that it will be similar to taking a domestic flight, rather than an international flight.
Flying to Qatar for the World Cup
The shuttle services will be scheduled up to five hours before the match, with fans having “plenty of time to travel to Doha before heading home,” Al Baker explained.
The shuttles are slated to include 30 daily return flights between Dubai and Doha, operated by FlyDubai, and 24 between Doha and Muscat, operated by Oman Air. Saudia will operate 20 flight rotations to Riyadh and Jeddah, while Kuwait Airways will connect Doha to Kuwait City with 10 return flights.
“We are delighted to enter into this partnership enabling more people to share in the joy of the beautiful game of the duration of the tournament, flyduabi will operate 30 roundtrip same day flights from Dubai World Central operated by our 737 max aircraft,” Al Ghaith explained.
“The convenience of these match day shuttles services will enable football fans to move freely and travel from the UAE, enjoy a football match in Doha and return in the same day. We are dedicated to offering our passengers the best experiences throughout their travel journey to match the excitement,” he added.
Al Baker also cautioned that these shuttle services are for World Cup ticket holders only, noting that “it’s not a shuttle flight of convenience, it’s a shuttle flight to watch a match.” GCC residents, normal visitors, or Qatar residents will have to continue to use normal scheduled flights to Hamad International Airport, while shuttle flights head to Doha International Airport. Al Baker said that at its peak Doha Airport will be processing between 5,000-6,000 people an hour, while Hamad International will process between 8,000-10,000 an hour.
In addition, due to the high volume of flights that are expected to be heading to Qatar, the country’s civil aviation authority has been looking to increase capacity.
How much will FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar shuttle flights cost?
The airline CEOs were quick to point out that they would do their best to offer flights at the lowest price possible.
“We will try our best to make [the price] a minimum so people can visit Doha and enjoy the World Cup,” Al Raisi said.
Al Baker also noted that the announcement on shuttle flights “is not about price fixing, this is about complimenting each other and bringing the maximum amount of frequencies into Doha.”
Prices for the shuttle flights will be decided by the airlines individually, with information available on their respective websites.
To help increase Qatar’s flight capacity, Qatar Airways will also be reducing its frequency to many other countries during the World Cup, replacing them with flights for fans.
Kuwait Airways CEO Maen Razouqi said that his airline would be offering a package of flights for fans who want to visit for multiple games during the tournament.
“We are all aligned on this, but what’s truly important is the fan,” he added.
Razouqi added that Kuwait Airways is coordinating with Saudia to offer flights for Saudi Arabians who wish to visit Qatar via Kuwait.
“Everyone here is making it possible for those that love travel and love football,” Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of Saudia, said.
“I think there is so much beauty in this region that people have not had the chance to explore … I think there is a lot people have not seen in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
“Everybody is working to ensure that this is a seamless experience for the passengers or fans that are coming through … no doubt this is something we are all working towards.”
Tournament for ‘whole Arab world’
Eng. Yasir Abdullah Al-Jamal, Director General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said that the announcement is an “important step for fans to come to our country.”
“The World Cup FIFA 2022 will be unprecedented, and we said before, we consider this tournament a tournament for the whole Arab World.”
There will be dedicated shuttle buses available for fans visiting to ensure they make it to the matches, while domestic transportation options, such as the metro, will be free during the tournament.
“We eagerly anticipate this collaboration and signing a memorandum of understanding … we look forward to kicking off on the 21st of November when fans will be able to see Arabian culture represented on a global scale,” Al Baker said.
“We are excited to share our great region’s culture … and look forward to celebrating with fans,” he added.
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