Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has announced it will allocate 780 scheduled, additional and shuttle flights connecting Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam to Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airport, with a combined total of 254,000 seats for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matches beginning November 20.
“Football-loving guests and fans of the Saudi national football team can enjoy the convenience of daily shuttles for same-day round trips,” the company said in a statement.
“In order to simplify travel arrangements and save time and effort, guests on shuttle flights are allowed to have both departure and return boarding passes issued at the same time, regardless of the time between their two flights. All guests, however, are responsible for having their Hayya tickets issued, which are mandatory for those who wish to enter Qatar and access World Cup venues throughout the tournament,” it added.
Saudi Arabia is putting on 240 flights a week and easing overland travel to attract tens of thousands of football fans attending the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, the kingdom’s tourism minister told AFP on Wednesday.
The efforts are intended to jumpstart the nascent tourism sector in the once closed-off kingdom, which only began issuing tourist visas in September 2019 — just months before the coronavirus pandemic decimated the industry globally.
Also Read: Saudi expecting tens of thousands of World Cup fans: Minister
Qatar has a population of 2.8 million and it tries to accommodate an expected 1.2 million. To cash in on the expected rush of fans, both UAE and Saudi Arabia have announced multiple-entry visas for fans.
The tiny Gulf nation has also reopened the mothballed Doha International Airport to cater to the additional flights. Read the full story here: Qatar reopens mothballed Doha airport to ease World Cup traffic