Dubai: Dubai Airport authorities has advised football lovers to revise all the necessary requirements with their respective airlines as the authorities prepare to deal with huge inflow of passengers in shuttle flights. Airlines are expecting massive influx of football lovers from Dubai to Qatar who are looking forward to match-day flights.
From November 20, Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways will operate up to 120 shuttle flights on match days. The shuttle flights will carry out services in and out of Dubai World Central (DWC) everyday till December 19 for the football fans to reach Doha, enjoy the World Cup game and return to Dubai.
It is mandatory for travelers to hold a valid match ticket and the Hayya Card to board match day shuttle flights. The baggage allowance for passengers using the shuttle service is limited to hand luggage as per their class of travel, and no checked luggage will be accepted except wheelchairs and strollers.
Dubai Airports revealed in the statement.
The Dubai-based low-cost carrier, Fly Dubai, is planning as many as 30 round-trip flights a day shuttling football fans between DWC to Doha International Airport.
In the upcoming weeks, it is expected that the introduction of match-day shuttle flights and additional charter flights associated to the FIFA World Cup matches would triple the number of passengers accessing DWC. The airport is expected to receive more than 494,000 passengers in the last three months of the year.
“A spike in demand of this magnitude would pose a challenge for any airport, but we have had some recent practice. In May-June this year, we orchestrated the almost flawless temporary relocation of more than 1,000 flights a week from Dubai International (DXB) to DWC for the 45-day long DXB northern runway rehabilitation project, while managing an exceptionally strong recovery throughout,” Mr. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, declared.
The CEO of Dubai Airport further added that “the collaborative spirit within the airport community here inDubai Dubai is strong and it will go into overdrive in the coming weeks to convert this challenge into a great opportunity.”