Fifa World Cup: flydubai flies 130,000 fans to Qatar on 1,290 shuttle flights
The airline operated up to 30 daily shuttle return flights between the two cities
Dubai-based carrier flydubai operated 1,290 flights between Dubai World Central (DWC) and Doha International Airport for the Fifa World Cup, it said on Thursday.
The carrier ferried more than 130,000 football fans between November 21 and December 19, it added.
“Passengers from 171 countries travelled conveniently to Doha on these Match Day Shuttle flights to cheer their favourite teams. The top 10 nationalities in terms of the number of passengers were UK, India, UAE, France, Argentina, US, Morocco, Jordan, Canada and Brazil, who made up to 60 per cent of the overall number of passengers travelling on these shuttle flights,” the carrier said in a statement.
“We are very pleased that the special Match Day Shuttle service operations to Doha were a great success thanks to the support of the authorities in Qatar and all the stakeholders in Dubai. These shuttle flights enabled more football fans to travel and enjoy the excitement of the tournament with ease and convenience,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO at flydubai.
The airline operated up to 30 daily shuttle return flights between DWC and DIA, with a shuttle flight departing every 30 minutes during peak travel periods of the day. These flights were operated by seven of the carrier’s Boeing 737 aircraft which were temporarily deployed at DWC for the duration of the tournament.
“It has been an exciting month and we are proud to have contributed to the success of this exceptional world cup in Qatar. We would like to thank every passenger who chose to flydubai as well as everyone who worked hard to make this a reality”, added Al Ghaith.