Qatar is expected to welcome over 1.5 million visitors overall during the grand tournament in November.

The much-awaited 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament is expected to attract over 16,000 spectators and football enthusiasts through Qatar’s two airports daily.

Qatar Airway’s Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said that Doha International Airport is expected to process between 5,000 and 6,000 football fans per day, while Hamad International Airport will handle between 8,000 and 10,000 per day.

The recent estimation comes following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the national carrier and four Gulf Airlines to facilitate the movement of fans from and to the nation.

According to the agreement, Flydubai is set to bring up to 2,700 fans per day with 30 daily rotations, while Kuwait Airways will bring 1,700 fans with 10 daily rotations.

Saudi Arabia will bring the highest number of fans, agreeing to 10,000 fans with up to 30 daily rotations. Finally, Oman Air will bring 3,400 fans with 24 daily rotations.

Both parties also agreed on Thursday to launch match-day shuttle flights between Doha and several regional cities throughout the FIFA World Cup 2022.

“The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be the first in the Middle East and Arab world, and we have always believed that a win for Qatar is a win for the region,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker.

This comes in handy for football fans within the region who are not obliged to stay in Qatar to attend football matches, making the shuttles a convenient option for many.

There will also be a no check-in baggage policy to ease the travellers’ journey.

FIFA World Cup organisers estimate that about 1.5 million visitors will attend the football event, which is due to take place in November.

Many, however, have voiced their concerns over the significant price increase for tickets to Qatar during the tournament dates, given the expected incoming surge of demand.

Busiest airport?

Qatar has already seen a spike in the number of visitors over the past year, even months ahead of the World Cup.

During April, Doha had one of the largest volumes of scheduled airline seats in the region, according to new data by a global travel data provider.

Based on released data, the route from the Hamad International Airport to the Cairo International Airport had 58,071 seats, placing it ninth in the African category, while the Doha to London Heathrow route was ranked among the top 10 busiest international routes by region.

The nation was also ranked sixth in the Airports Council International (ACI) 2021 report in the top ten airports with the highest international patronage (17,701,978), only behind Dubai, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris airports.