With the ball rolling for FIFA World Cup Qatar, the country’s transportation sector is registering a huge flow of passengers at airports, bus and metro stations. According to figures released by the Ministry of Transport (MoT), more than 1,500 air movements have been recorded at both Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Doha International Airport since the mega sporting event.
“Qatar is expected to see a significant increase in the number of passengers and aircraft movement with the mass arrival of fans and visitors to the global sporting event,” MoT said in a statement. “Years ago, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority carried out comprehensive development plans in the Qatari airspace in terms of increasing the number of air routes for inbound and outbound airplanes, to and from Qatar, and upgrading all the systems and technologies used in air navigation,” it was explained.
Doha Metro, the prime option for fans and visitors to access stadiums, tourism destinations and accommodation places, is witnessing a steady increase in number of passengers. Doha Metro and Tram, according to the figures from MoT, transported around 567,000 passengers transported on the first day of the World Cup. Doha Metro has extended its operational hours from 6am to 3am from Saturday to Thursday and from 9am to 3am on Friday. Free metrolink buses run useful routes within 2-5km of stations and some of the stations have dedicated car parks to reduce traffic during tournament time.
Mowasalat (Karwa), on Sunday, transported 118,805 passengers while the company operated 2,787 services to ferry fans to the stadiums and tourism spots across Qatar. Karwa has intensified its operational preparations for the World Cup while mobilising its fleet with specialised technical teams to ensure a comfortable and smooth transportation experience for the tournament. About 4,000 buses are being operated during the tournament, of which about 3,000 are dedicated to transporting fans, including more than 800 fully electric buses that operate with zero carbon emissions.
