Daily Mail: Qatar airport not ready for World Cup

Qatar’s Hamad International airport is reportedly not ready for the FIFA World Cup to be held November 20 – December 18, Report informs referring to the Daily Mail.

Some staff are worried that the increased levels of traffic, with activity to more than double, will see already under-pressure workers unable to cope.

During the World Cup, which starts next month, flights going in and out of the airport will surge from 700 per day to 1,600. But a number of workers, all of whom wish to remain anonymous for fear of recriminations, are worried. They believe the Doha-based facility is incapable of dealing with the extra traffic amid a desperate shortage of air traffic control staff.

Insiders, who have raised their concerns on an online forum for airport professionals, claim new recruits are being given 20 to 30 hours of training, which they say is not enough time to make them familiar with the layout of the area and operational issues. There has also been talk of the potential impact of Qatar’s strained relationship with near neighbors Bahrain.

Insiders point out that Bahrain has the rights to the airspace over Qatar, which was handed over on September 8. They feel that does not allow enough time to prepare for the huge increase in traffic that is coming.

The situation is so stark that staff have been gagged and banned from leaving to take jobs elsewhere. In a bid to get a grip on the situation, all leave for four months from August to the end of December has been cancelled but concerns over the quality of new recruits have been raised.