Qatar passengers shocked to discover they can’t leave the airport

Airline passengers with long connection times between flights at Doha’s main airport have been encouraged to visit Qatar during their stopover, part of the country’s longstanding drive for more tourism. But while the country hosts the World Cup 2022, passengers have no access beyond the transit area, even for a few hours. They are not allowed to visit the capital and its tourist attractions, and soak up the World Cup 2022 atmosphere. Until the end of December, only those with match tickets are entitled to acquire a Hayya card, the ID permit that allows access to Qatar. All other travellers are banned. Humphrey Wilson, planned an overnight stopover visiting friends in the Qatari capital. He arranged a daytime flight from Johannesburg to London with a 15-hour overnight connection at Doha’s Hamad International Airport. “It all sounded rather civilised,” he said. “We figured we would visit some friends overnight for dinner, have a nice rest and check in for the morning flight.” But after buying the flight tickets for himself and his wife, Wilson discovered Qatar has become the first World Cup host nation to ban tourists during the tournament. “We checked before booking that [Covid] testing requirements were being lifted from 1 November, and checked that we were eligible for visa-free entry. Nowhere did we see this Hayya card nonsense. It was only when my friend who lives in Qatar mentioned it to me, that I realised.” At the time he booked the flight, no match tickets were available – though Fifa has opened sales on many thousands of them.<br/>