Do make sure you go to the right airport mate. DWC, or Al Maktoum Airport is located some 40 kms southwest of Dubai and not in the center like Dubai International Airport (DXB). And if you are flying out of DXB, be sure the get the terminal right. Terminal 2, which is where FlyDubai and most discount airlines operate is on the other side of the airport than T1 + 3. On a bad traffic day, it can be a long taxi ride between the day. I almost missed my flight once making this mistake...
good stuff, it's info like this which will save the day for some. I can imagine the stress if I screwed something like this up and was about to miss a flight there. I hate travel stress when I'm running late.
Shuttles are confirmed through DWC, which will be nice for those of us in the Marina area. When all is said and done I will have flown through DWC, DXB, and SHJ. Will I get a prize?
DWC is a completely different airport than DXB, so that would be a major screwup. However, I learned from experience about the terminal 1 / 2 thing myself. Almost missed a flight to Kyrgyzstan wandering around the wrong side of the airport, then had to catch a cab to the other terminal. Dubai traffic can be horrendous, so a little distance like that can actual be costly...
Agreed. What I am hoping to hear is that the authorities have streamlined the Match Day Shuttle airport experience and border crossings. I am hoping for short security & immigration lines, etc. The Match Day Shuttle is using DWC on the Dubai side as noted, and apparently they are setting up a terminal in that airport for just this purpose. And on the Doha side, it's still a bit unclear whether they are using Hamad (DOH) or the old airport (DIA). My flyDubai confirmation says DOH, but various news articles indicate that they are renovating DIA for the Match Day Shuttles. Again, if they set up a special terminal at DIA for this, they will be primed to streamline things for Match Day Shuttle passengers.
Really? I didn't know about that. Honestly, the original airport is like a ghost town at the moment. But it makes sense as it can handle the short flights easily. I hope they keep the A&W open there. It was trippy going to get a rootbeer float at the old airport every-time lol....
Has anyone had luck getting a Hayaa card when you have a mixed stay of matchday visits and Doha accommodations? I got my Hayaa approved due to my accomodations for the 2nd round, but Im blocked from getting matchday visits due to accommodations on my account. Emailed them, but they said to cancel my accommodations (not doing that) and then apply for matchday visits. Im not going to risk canceling a decent rate hotel, to hopefully find something suitable to book on November 30th after my matchday visits are done - this seems idiotic.
Is that even necessary? My Hayya is approved (I think I did it based on accommodations), so am I not good for the tournament? There is nothing on the app regarding dates - just my glamour shot, QR code, passport info, nationality, and of course Hayya card ID #. My itinerary is Doha 11/20-23 (upon which I applied for Hayya), with the rest of the time thereafter in Dubai and yet-to-be-booked Doha 12/2-5.
Yeah - Im not sure. Im already approved. Jumping through hoops to cancel a reservation and then rebook later doesnt make any sense. I just dont want to show up at the airport on Wales gameday and have them give me shit, Here is what they said earlier: Thank you for contacting the Hayya Support Team. Kindly be informed that in order for you to apply for a match day visit, you will need to cancel your booked accomodation which will result in your approved Hayya Card to go back to the pending accomodation confirmation status. Furthermore, please be acknowledged that if your application status is pending accommodation confirmation the approval will be instant
My understanding is a single Hayya card is good for the whole tournament. AFAIK you don't need a separate Hayya to come back on other dates by shuttle. Have you seen something different?
I think you're good, and me as well, lol - Hayya is valid for the tournament while the matchday Hayya has been advertised as separate and may look different (perhaps this is how they enforce the 24 hour return rule?). My friends have procrastinated on applying for their matchday Hayya or I'd be able to say definitively.
My understanding is Hayya is good for entire tourney. It isn't arrival/departure specific. You can either link your accommodation, or home stay, or matchday. If you already have accommodations and approved Hayya card then don't mess with it, even if you are doing matchday shuttle as well.
so i got an email from FlyDubai airlines that from September to end of December flights for the game day shuttle are going from the "old" Doha airport , the 3 digit symbol is DIA but dont be confused with Denver. So the old airport closed in 2016 i guess its being refurbished, but i'm sure it will have less services such as Lounge, Metro, Food, etc than the current state of the art, worlds best DOH airport.. I have one matchday flight on Flydubai, and one on Qatar Airways, I havent heard anything about terminal change from Qatar yet.
Same here. But no change in times, just looks like they confirmed DIA as the airport. Just a guess but assuming that will be smaller and "easier" airport to go in and out of, especially if its all the expedited matchday shuttles.
Its seems the old airport is on the Red Metro-line, so its one stop "closer" to the city that the new airport so transportation should be easy.. killing time at the airport for the 7am flight the day after the USA vs Wales game might be a bit tougher. There is always sleep i guess, and i have a feeling the airport will be more comfortable than any train or bus station in the USA..
I'm in a similar situation the day after the Final. My flight departs at 6:00 AM the next morning. I'm trying to sort out what to do before my flight as the Final kicks off at 6:00 PM local so it could be over by 8:00 PM, or 9:00 PM at the latest. A buddy of mine told me I can stash my bags in his room, so I got that covered. I'll probably go out with my friends after the match to say our goodbyes and maybe have a few last beers. I can't imagine all the bars in Doha being full after the match is over. I don't want to head to the airport until 3:00 AM or so. I was considering booking a sleeping pod in the airport. Another option is to book a night in a cheaper place that's convenient to the airport so I can just crash for a few hours. But I would need them to change the current policy of a 4-night minimum around the Final. I think it'll be waived by then as I don't see any way that all the hotels will be booked with 30 out of 32 teams eliminated by the day of the Final. But at least I have a fallback plan.
do you have lounge access at the New Doha airport? the Qatar airways Business class and separate First Class lounge are rated the best in the world and i believe open 24hrs a day.. look into getting into those and you can easily kill the time, and the First class lounge has sleeping Pods, that in the pictures i have seen are nicer than my freshman dorm room.
yeah I travel a lot so I have these options. I'm One World Emerald (top tier) and flying First on Qatar out of Doha that morning so I'll have access to Qatar's Al Safwa lounge. But I don't see sleeping pods listed on the web site. Do you have something that says there are pods in there? https://www.qatarairways.com/en-qa/lounges/al-safwa-lounge.html I think you might have seen the spa treatment tables. I'm sure the Qatar lounge will be amazing with great food, and even free premium booze. I spend a lot of time in airport lounges, but no matter how nice they are, time still goes slow waiting for a flight and I'll be dead tired. I really don't want to spend 4 or 5 hours in there trying to stay awake. I've had really long layovers before and it still sucks although for sure better than wandering a terminal for hours. I also have the Priority Pass which allows access to the Al Maha Lounge (24 hours), but the Qatar lounge will be better. PP also has free access to the "Sleep 'n Fly" sleep lounge but it doesn't appear to allow an advance booking, it says "subject to availability", so my guess is availability will be zero that night. I could just book a sleep pod I suppose but I'm just not ready to do that yet as I'm holding out hope I can book a hotel for 1 night. I arrive at 9AM Sunday morning from Dubai so my ideal scenario is to book a Doha hotel convenient to airport for 1 night and get early check in (longshot probably) and crash a few hours before the Final. Then crash another couple of hours after the Final before heading to the airport, and spend maybe an hour or 2 max in the lounge before boarding. Just need them to waive that 4 night hotel minimum.
Nice on Emerald status, i'm trying to get there before November, only 20,000 points away.. step down from the first class lounge to the business, Al Mourjan Business Lounge and plenty of articles online i wont link them here, talk about private or quiet sleeping areas. if Qatar is letting any friend into the country now without a ticket, i'm sure fairly soon when they realize there isnt the demand they thought, whatever 4 night hotel requirement might be relaxed.. we have a very fluid 80 days or whatever it is till first kick..
I think there is a good chance the 4 day hotel stay minimum over the Final gets rescinded at some point, though not necessarily before the start of the tournament. To me it's one of the most fan-unfriendly policies they have. There's probably quite a few people coming for just this 1 match and to force them to book 4 nights when they only need 1 or 2 is just pure greed. So I'm thinking these are the factors working in my favor: (a) the amount of lodging options designed to accommodate Group Stage visitors is way more than needed for the much smaller numbers by DEC 18, (b) only 80K can get into the stadium, I can't see many people wanting to hang out in Doha otherwise to watch the Final; (c) a number of attendees are locals who don't need a room; (d) probably many attendees who are in and out the same day on the shuttle; (e) 28 of 32 teams (and their contingents) will be eliminated by 14-DEC freeing up lots of rooms. I've heard that at some point hotels will be allowed to use their own booking systems and not the official portal. Not sure if will happen, but I hope to book a Bonvoy property so I can try to use my status to get an early check in to get a few hours of sleep that afternoon.
damn, literally just after I posted that this was posted on one of my WhatsApp chats by a friend: This may be the change I was hoping for that eliminates the stupid 3 and 4-night hotel stay minimums! Hopefully المهندس ياسر الجمّال - مدير عام اللجنة العليا للمشاريع والإرثيسر الدولة المستضيفة أن تعلن أنه بداية من هذا الأسبوع يمكن للمشجعين حجز المزيد من أماكن الإقامة، بما في ذلك الفنادق، عن طريق طرف ثالث. ويمكن استخدام هذا الحجز للتسجيل لبطاقة هيّا— كأس آسيا تحت 23 سنة AFC قطر 2024 (@Qatar2023) September 8, 2022 Here's the google translation from Arabic: Eng. Yasser Al-Jammal - Director General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy The host country is pleased to announce that starting this week fans can book more accommodations, including hotels, through a third party. This reservation can be used to register for the Haya Card
Does anyone know if people making “match day visits” are going to be subject to the same COVID testing requirements to enter Qatar? If I’m going to make 4 match day visits, am I going to have to figure out how to get a PCR test in between each one?
I think the hope is that there will be no testing requirement for anyone during the WC, but we don’t know any details yet.