Both Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Doha International Airport (DIA) are currently witnessing flight influx coming from all over the world ahead of the tournament, which kicks off tomorrow. Therefore, these two airports are intensifying their preparations for welcoming the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fans. The airports are recording 90 aircraft movements, both take-offs and landings, per hour.
HIA Chief Operating Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer confirmed the full readiness of both the airports to receive the influx of World Cup visitors and fans.
Acting Director of Air Transport and Airport Affairs Department at the Civil Aviation Authority (QCCA), Mohammed Faleh Al Hajri stressed that the civil aviation system is in full readiness to deal with the expected vast increase in air traffic that Qatar is going to witness during the World Cup.
Al Hajri ruled out that the coming period will witness any stumbles with the expected congestion in Qatar’s airspace, given the early preparations taken by the state and the authorities concerned to handle the anticipated congestion and at the same time to avoid any complications caused by that congestion. He said that the past period witnessed extensive preparations that took years, and that the authority’s Air Navigation Department has completed its preparations with the start of the first phase of the Doha flight information region (FIR/SSR) through which the QCCA will manage air navigation and provide navigational assistance throughout Qatar’s airspace. The capacity was increased to about 100 air traffic per hour, adding that the upcoming and outgoing air routes to Qatar became 17 separate paths, in order to achieve further movement flow and ensure further safety, as well as increase the aircraft holding areas in air, which are used during peak periods to arrange aircraft during landing, in preparation for the expected increase in traffic during the World Cup.
Al Hajri noted that the efficiency of take-off and landing operations increased, adding that the possibility of accommodating three landings and take-offs simultaneously has been reached, and an experiment was successfully conducted in the air traffic control simulator to ensure the effectiveness and safety of this system for operation.
The tower provides a control unit for all available remote monitoring techniques to enable control over a large area with the least amount of manpower, which will help face the expected operating intensity, and provide great smoothness and flexibility in air traffic during World Cup. It will also contribute in the future to dispensing with the traditional control towers, given the new ones can be installed everywhere and aircraft can be directed through it using screens and the device.
Qatar activated the virtual tower during the first week of September. The activation was successful and did not meet any challenges. He said that the authority has completed the final stages of preparations and training, and has held many meetings and coordination with all relevant authorities, to ensure the readiness of the civil aviation system and the integration of its activities, and to prepare for that important period in which Qatar will witness large numbers of passengers, and unprecedented air traffic to ensure the safety of all flights, and provide smoothness and great flexibility in air traffic during the World Cup period.
Al Hajri indicated that the Authority’s air navigation department has completed developing and testing the alternative operational emergency plans to ensure that no confusion occurs in air traffic management during the championship, indicating that all these efforts come within a framework to provide a unique travel experience for visitors, and to show the whole world the great development Qatar is witnessing in the civil aviation sector.
