flydubai has carried over 100,000 football fans to take part in the FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar. The airline flew 900 flights between Dubai World Central (DWC) and Doha International Airport (DIA) since November 21, 2022, the majority of which operated at near full capacity at peak travel periods of the day. The Match Day Shuttle flights will operate until 19 December 2022.
As part of its partnership with Qatar Airways to support the flow of football fans from the region to Doha for the duration of the World Cup, flydubai has been operating up to 30 daily Match Day Shuttle flights.
Seven of flydubai’s Boeing 737 aircraft are currently positioned at DWC to operate the Match Day Shuttle schedule. At peak travel periods during the day, an aircraft departed every 30 minutes. Throughout the rest of the day, an aircraft took off on average every 50 minutes providing the customers with ample options for travel to Doha to cheer on their favorite team and return to Dubai.
Two of flydubai’s aircraft operating out of DWC feature a special football-themed livery as part of its regional partnership with the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
Commenting on the Match Day Shuttle flights, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “It has been a very exciting couple of weeks for everyone involved in delivering the Match Day Shuttle flights, whether they are football fans or not. The celebratory atmosphere at DWC, the joy of the fans, and the ease with which their journey from Dubai to Doha commences are proof of how well everyone has come together to make this a reality. A special thanks to Dubai Airports, dnata, Dubai Police, Dubai Immigration, the authorities, and our partner Qatar Airways for all their support.”
More than 70% of passengers traveling on the Match Day Shuttle flights had completed online check-in and received their online boarding passes prior to arrival at DWC, enabling them to directly proceed to immigration in record time to start their journeys.
flydubai is all geared up for another busy travel period where more than 25,000 football fans are expected to travel to watch the final matches in Doha. The airline will also add capacity to cater to the demand for travel for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place playoff, and final match of the tournament.