2022 FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR

The FIFA World Cup 2022 will take place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. This event marks the first time the World Cup has ever been held in an Arab nation.

The event is estimated to draw upward of 1.7 million visitors to Qatar. However, business aviation traffic is not expected to match the numbers of previous World Cups. There are a variety of reasons for this:

• To avoid Qatar’s brutal summer heat, the World Cup will be held later this year – 20 November to 18 December 2022, butting up against the holiday season.
• There is also significant negative press regarding the human rights violations of migrant workers brought into Qatar to build venues for the event.
• There is no parking at all in Qatar for the event. Every operation will be a drop-and-go.
• Hotels will not be available at all for crew. All hotel accommodations require a ticket to the games.

Despite those deterrents, the World Cup will still be a high-traffic business aviation event and it’s imperative to plan ahead if you plan on attending.

Here’s everything you need to know if you plan to attend the World Cup on a business aircraft.

Attendance forecasts project 1.7 million visitors to Qatar for the World Cup and as many as 500,000 on the busiest days of the tournament. FIFA is estimating 110,000 passengers a day at the two primary airports during the tournament.

Unlike previous World Cups, including the most recent tournament in Brazil, the Qatar World Cup venues are all within close proximity of each other, with the largest distance between stadiums just 55 kilometers. This is far different than previous events where stadiums were spread across large geographic regions and, in some cases, hundreds of miles.

All flights entering Qatar for the World Cup will go to either Hamad International (OTHH) or Doha International (OTBD). The airports are less than 15 minutes away from each other.

All scheduled airline flights will be accommodated at OTHH. All charter flights will be accommodated at either OTHH or OTBD. GA/BA flights will be accommodated primarily at OTBD. State and VVIP flights will be accommodated at either airport based on local authorities’ requirements.