Long layover in Doha

burmans

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Posts
8,120
I have a (AA reward) flight from Rome in late October on Qatar with a long stopover in Doha, flying in on J leaving Rome at 4pm and arriving at 10:25 in Doha and not leaving until 8:30pm the next night in First (that's the good part of this trip). I have been waiting and hoping that Qatar frees up it's Covid restrictions but at the moment they are not offering transit hotel and you still need a RT-PCR to actually enter.

This may be problematic as I only get into Rome (from Albania) late the night before so unsure of my options to get a PCR essentially the day of departure in Rome, any advice or recent experience on this would be appreciated.!

The airport hotel seem very expensive, also when I chatted with the agent online they said I could use the Business Lounge. When I queried this and whether I could use the First lounge they said you have to be in First all sectors, this seem strange/unfair when First isn't even available on one leg. Can anyone verify if travelling DOH-SYD in First would suffice for access?
 
I have a (AA reward) flight from Rome in late October on Qatar with a long stopover in Doha, flying in on J leaving Rome at 4pm and arriving at 10:25 in Doha and not leaving until 8:30pm the next night in First (that's the good part of this trip). I have been waiting and hoping that Qatar frees up it's Covid restrictions but at the moment they are not offering transit hotel and you still need a RT-PCR to actually enter.



The airport hotel seem very expensive, also when I chatted with the agent online they said I could use the Business Lounge. When I queried this and whether I could use the First lounge they said you have to be in First all sectors, this seem strange/unfair when First isn't even available on one leg. Can anyone verify if travelling DOH-SYD in First would suffice for access?
Yes, you ought to be able to go to the Al Safwa first lounge based on your next onward flight.
 
I have a (AA reward) flight from Rome in late October on Qatar with a long stopover in Doha, flying in on J leaving Rome at 4pm and arriving at 10:25 in Doha and not leaving until 8:30pm the next night in First (that's the good part of this trip). I have been waiting and hoping that Qatar frees up it's Covid restrictions but at the moment they are not offering transit hotel and you still need a RT-PCR to actually enter.

This may be problematic as I only get into Rome (from Albania) late the night before so unsure of my options to get a PCR essentially the day of departure in Rome, any advice or recent experience on this would be appreciated.!

The airport hotel seem very expensive, also when I chatted with the agent online they said I could use the Business Lounge. When I queried this and whether I could use the First lounge they said you have to be in First all sectors, this seem strange/unfair when First isn't even available on one leg. Can anyone verify if travelling DOH-SYD in First would suffice for access?
I'm in a similar situation. I have 20 hour layover in November and didn't realise that Qatar still has Covid entry restrictions (slightly regretting not booking SQ at the moment)! I can't book the Oryx hotel as it's blocked out for all of November (though I wouldn't book anyway as its A$400+ for one night) and a sleep pod is about USD$120 for 8 hours.

I think I'll be bunking down in the Gold lounge unless the testing criteria is removed. I'm crossing fingers it will be soon given the World Cup is happening in late November.
 
I'm in a similar situation. I have 20 hour layover in November and didn't realise that Qatar still has Covid entry restrictions (slightly regretting not booking SQ at the moment)! I can't book the Oryx hotel as it's blocked out for all of November (though I wouldn't book anyway as its A$400+ for one night) and a sleep pod is about USD$120 for 8 hours.

I think I'll be bunking down in the Gold lounge unless the testing criteria is removed. I'm crossing fingers it will be soon given the World Cup is happening in late November.
My understanding is that you can only enter Qatar in November if you have World Cup tickets, so this may be what you are doing regardless. Not that I was thinking about that when I booked!
 
My understanding is that you can only enter Qatar in November if you have World Cup tickets, so this may be what you are doing regardless. Not that I was thinking about that when I booked!
That's frustrating as my layover is almost three weeks before the WC starts!

My own fault for not checking this information (something I'd usually be all over, but I'm obviously a bit rusty haha). Also kicking myself for flying out of AMS and not CDG now.
 
Entry to Qatar between 1 November to 23 January 2023 is limited to those who hold a valid match ticket or a Qatari resident's permit. You must arrange your accommodation before you travel to Qatar for the event unless your visit is less than 24 hours.
Will this change?
I'm really worried because I have an award booking which will have 2 long stop overs in Qatar and I can't reroute since there is no availability.
My flights:
24.12 Arrive DOH at 05.15am
25.12 Departs DOH at 08.05am (original flight leaving at 1.50am cancelled)

06.01 arrive DOH at 11.35pm
08.01 depart DOH at 2.15am

Not sure why, but I thought the WC was Sept/Oct.
 
The world cup doesn't start until the 20th so are you sure it's the whole of November you can't enter?
 
The world cup doesn't start until the 20th so are you sure it's the whole of November you can't enter?
My layover is November 5/6, when I went to check availability at the airport hotel it shows as blocked for all of November and December, there's also no availability at any hotel in the city.
Post automatically merged:

Will this change?
I'm really worried because I have an award booking which will have 2 long stop overs in Qatar and I can't reroute since there is no availability.
My flights:
24.12 Arrive DOH at 05.15am
25.12 Departs DOH at 08.05am (original flight leaving at 1.50am cancelled)

06.01 arrive DOH at 11.35pm
08.01 depart DOH at 2.15am

Not sure why, but I thought the WC was Sept/Oct.
You will be eligible for STPC (long layover accommodation), as I am. The issue is that due to Qatar's Covid entry restrictions they're not offering it at the moment.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements


I did also find this somewhere on the Qatar airways site but can't remember where now.

It does not make 100% sense, there must be people who need to go to Qatar and don't actually have tickets to the games, e.g. players/officials themselves and all sorts of support people.
 

I did also find this somewhere on the Qatar airways site but can't remember where now.

It does not make 100% sense, there must be people who need to go to Qatar and don't actually have tickets to the games, e.g. players/officials themselves and all sorts of support people.
It's a strange one. I suspect it is a way of curbing the number of travellers arriving into Qatar during that period. I could not find said travel advice on the Qatar airways site either. Tickets are still being sold by Qatar without any mention of this advisory.
 
While this may not be the only reason I believe Doha is basically booked out during this period, including cruise liners docked and people are basically having to stay in neighbouring countries even with tickets!
 
While this may not be the only reason I believe Doha is basically booked out during this period, including cruise liners docked and people are basically having to stay in neighbouring countries even with tickets!
That's probably why airlines in the region are operating shuttle flights from UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudia Arabia, so people can go watch a game and then fly home the same day.
 
My layover is November 5/6, when I went to check availability at the airport hotel it shows as blocked for all of November and December, there's also no availability at any hotel in the city.
Post automatically merged:


You will be eligible for STPC (long layover accommodation), as I am. The issue is that due to Qatar's Covid entry restrictions they're not offering it at the moment.
I went to quickly see if I can book in an Airport stay too.. Not available :(
What are you going to do if it doesn't change?
 
My layover is November 5/6, when I went to check availability at the airport hotel it shows as blocked for all of November and December, there's also no availability at any hotel in the city.
Post automatically merged:


You will be eligible for STPC (long layover accommodation), as I am. The issue is that due to Qatar's Covid entry restrictions they're not offering it at the moment.
Not convinced they will be reinstating STPC in a hurry unfortunately (although hoping so) and certainly have my doubts it will be available in the World Cup period given the accommodation issues and restrictions on entry.
Post automatically merged:

I went to quickly see if I can book in an Airport stay too.. Not available :(
What are you going to do if it doesn't change?
I think the only available options have been canvassed above already!
 
Not convinced they will be reinstating STPC in a hurry unfortunately (although hoping so) and certainly have my doubts it will be available in the World Cup period given the accommodation issues and restrictions on entry.
Post automatically merged:


I think the only available options have been canvassed above already!
I'm just going to book a pod at Sleep n Fly. It's expensive (A$200 for 6 hours), but I'll need a horizontal rest at some point!
 
Lucky I checked this thread...I wasn't aware they were restricting stopovers in Qatar (even for January 2023 when I was looking to stopover!).
 
That's probably why airlines in the region are operating shuttle flights from UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudia Arabia, so people can go watch a game and then fly home the same day.
They don’t have anywhere near enough accommodation so they are operating shuttle to get spectators to games. Some of the packages I was looking at for instance had accomodation in neighbouring countries and then just shuttled you to the game and then back afterwards.
I have a relative who has been living and working in Doha for a while now and the government offered him well above his rental price to vacate for a period and allow visitors in. He is going back to the UK for a break. Some residents have also been forcibly evicted or being coerced into signing very long lease extensions
 

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..

Recent Posts

Back
Top