Doha: Qatar Tourism has said that around 1.5 million tourists are expected to come to Qatar for the World Cup.
The annual capacity of Hamad International Airport is 53 million, while the Doha International Airport, the country’s former commercial airport will reopen to handle air traffic for the tournament. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive H E Akbar Al Baker assured the “seamless experience” of fans coming in to watch the football tournament.
“You will walk straight through the immigration as if you are coming as a domestic passenger within the GCC... There will be very smart processes in order for you to come in and go out seamlessly through state of the art immigration system that are being introduced by our Ministry of Interior.”
Eng. Yasir Al Jamal, Director General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: “Without any doubt that we believe the capacity and facilities available both in Hamad International Airport along with Doha International Airport will be the most efficient way to enter the State of Qatar.”
“There’s gonna be shuttle buses dedicated for groups that will come through those shuttle airlines and will take them through different hubs either metro stations or directly to the stadiums, that will be scheduled throughout the tournament,” Eng. Al Jamal continued. The peak of the tournament will happen for the first 12 days of World Cup where four matches a day will take place, followed by knockout stages - two to three matches a day, and the final tournament.
Al Jamal stressed that the said transits both the metro and public transportation will be free of charge for all visitors.
The Group Chief Executive noted that aside from air passengers, majority of the football fans will also be using roads to cross borders because of the close connectivity of the GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
