Airlines ready for ‘immense’ World Cup operations

The state’s aviation sector is in its final stages of preparations ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 here in Doha. Qatar Airways has withdrawn flights from 18 destinations to instead increase frequencies to destinations with stronger World Cup demand (such as countries that have qualified for the tournament) and to make space at Hamad International Airport for foreign airlines, Group CEO HE Akbar al-Baker confirmed this week. The withdrawal from 18 destinations represents a cut of around 7%, with services to South Asia the most impacted.The airline chief said the priority now was to accommodate the hundreds of flights that will be landing in the country for the tournament.German airline group Lufthansa was considering restarting operations to Doha, along with Air France-KLM which has already published a schedule to operate a three-weekly Boeing 777 service between Paris and Doha for the first time in over 20 years. A total of 32 nations are taking part in the tournament, and Qatar is expecting over 200,000 passengers a day to fly into Doha, either through Hamad International Airport, or the city’s secondary airport which has recently reopened for the World Cup, Doha International Airport. The government and national airline has made several significant operational changes to cater for the incoming increase in passengers, including handing over slots and gates to other airline operators. British Airways, owned by IAG – one of Europe’s largest airline groups of which Qatar is the largest shareholder — will temporarily operate its Airbus A380, the largest commercial airline jet in the world, on the London Heathrow - Doha Hamad International route between November 18 and January 8 to help increase capacity for the tournament. British Airways will be taking over a Heathrow slot pair allocated to Qatar Airways. Qatar will also operate ‘Match Day Shuttle Flights’ in co-operation with flydubai, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia and Qatar Airways. Together the airlines will bring more than 18,000 fans daily into Qatar during the tournament period. It also allows football fans to fly to Qatar, watch a match, and return within 24 hours without the need of accommodation. All passengers must register for a Hayya card (fan ID) prior to their flight, as this is required for travel on all Match Day Shuttle Flights and for entry into Qatar. As the country prepares for the increase in air traffic, Qatar’s first-ever airspace has been activated, known as the ‘Doha FIR.’ Earlier this year, in what was a a historic verdict for aviation in the Middle East, the UN special agency for aviation “ICAO — the International Civil Aviation Organisation” agreed to establish a brand new, first-ever airspace for the State of Qatar known as the “Doha FIR” — redrawing the skies of the world’s airspace map for the first time in decades, following a lengthy application and assessment process initiated by Qatar over five years ago. The ICAO is the UN agency with the authority to delegate which country is responsible for the operational control of a given ‘flight information region’, which is known in the industry as an ‘FIR’ – essentially, an airspace area on the map of the skies.The establishment of a Doha FIR, which was activated in September this year, shrank Bahrain’s existing airspace, and stretches out east towards the UAE, and north towards Iran. The Doha FIR was approved by ICAO council member countries, which include the United States, South Africa, Singapore, Greece, and Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It means Qatar has taken on a flow of traffic that can at times be the busiest in the world. Hundreds of flights to the United Arab Emirates fly through the new Qatari airspace.The area is also busy with other foreign jets overflying the Gulf to journey to and from Asia — many do so because other routes above Ukraine and Afghanistan are mostly off limits given recent conflicts.With a new FIR of its own, Qatar has gained much-needed airspace independence, and the country has had a better ability to maximise the efficiency of air travel around Qatar in order to better meet the country’s air travel sustainability goals, and cope with the increase in traffic for the World Cup. Qatar will further benefit from overflight fees paid by other airlines for using its airspace – which is common practice in aviation.The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir