Doha International Airport Passenger Reviews and Doha Airport Customer opinions

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Billions spent on the new terminal but someone seriously miscalculated the number of toilets required. Security staff rude and I have doubts about their efficiency. My hand luggage was x-rayed twice notwithstanding that I was in transit and it had been done thoroughly in Milan. Curiously, my person was not searched during these checks. It is difficult to see the logic. The bus journey from the aircraft seemed never ending. I thought this was supposed to end once the new terminal had opened. I could not find any water fountains/coolers.

Great network of destinations and cabin/flight crew excellent but ground staff and Doha airport simply not up to the job. Had an uncomplicated transfer through on way to Europe, though lengthy bus rides standing to/from tarmac and lack of airbridge onto plane problematic for older passengers with mobility issues. Check-in in Europe for return trip went smoothly, purchased some duty free goods after checking in luggage and accepted as carryon to Doha in the usual sealed plastic bag. Passed through security again into Doha airport without comment when we were bussed into the terminal for a 2 hour transit. Had difficulty accessing departure gate due to long queues. Walked around to gate lounge that appeared to also have access to correct lounge but apparently did not, lengthy redirection by ground staff and instead of being 15 mins ahead of check-in for ongoing flight we were 2 minutes late, gate had been closed and we were off the flight with 24 hrs to spend in Doha airport. Went to board the ongoing flight, and all our duty free was confiscated, as was the duty free alcohol purchases of many other passengers, including transit passengers who'd purchased in Doha. Final insult was to get home, nearly 48 hours after starting our trip, to find our luggage had not been placed on our flight despite repeated assurances that it would be. Facilities and processes on the ground are insufficient to cope with the rapidly expanding flight schedule and staff do not have sufficient support to retain customer focus. And I would agree with other reviewers regarding minimal toilets!

On arrival (for work) after midnight on a Monday night, had to wait about 2 hours to get through immigration - this considered regular traffic. On departure 3 weeks later arrived at airport early, checked in and went through to find its US$40 for access to the pay-in lounge where I could get an alcoholic drink.

The Airport terminal is pleasant enough, and Duty Free Prices were average. Main complaint is there are too few toilets, far too few. Every toilet was packed to capacity. With the number of people moving through there they need to improve that. Also if people are lying under the pay phones to charge iPhones and laptops, then make a proper charge station to accommodate these people. There are charge stations but as with the toilets it is designed for half the volume that the airport can handle. Would rather fly Emirates next time.

Transited 2 times this month at DOH airport. Crowded but fast security checks. Nice and efficient personnel at transit desk, information and gates. The negative aspect is the dirty toilets!

Writing this from the Oryx lounge in Doha. Can't say much about the main terminal but as far as I could see it was packed. Oryx lounge good (costs $40 USD per person) not much food option but got good shower with towel you can borrow. Toilets and shower are cleaned every so often and were in excellent condition. Computers and WIFI internet provided free of charge even the printer is free to use! As for the food for about 18 hours I was living off Pepsi, bread and butter and a mushroom soup but the staff are friendly. Oryx lounge is recommended if you got a long layover but not if your layover is under 2 hrs to 2.5 hrs.

Transiting to/from LHR and HKG. The airport is clearly in transition as the opening of NDIA approaches. The terminal is still massively overcrowded, even at 0300, but it's quite easy to find a seat, as seats are everywhere. The new colour-coded transfer card system works well, and clearing security only takes a few minutes, even when several wide-body aircraft arrive at the same time. Staff are friendly and helpful, with no hassle at security. Toilets rarely stay clean for long – the cleaners work very hard, but they simply can't cope with the huge volume of pax. Shops are still cheap compared to other airports, especially for bottled water. The biggest issue is probably the bus ride to/from the aircraft – this must surely now be the world's longest aircraft-to-terminal bus ride – the distances are huge! Announcements are infrequent, which must lead to many missed connections. Unlike some, I quite like transiting here, but the new airport is eagerly awaited.

We had about an hour between flights at Doha (RGN-DOH-LHR). On arrival, we spent many minutes cruising round the edge of the airport in a transfer bus, eventually got to the transfer gate, the fast transfer lanes were closed but no queue at all at normal-speed lanes, so no problem. Arrived at departure gate as it was due to open, admired once again the confusing way a flight disappears from the gates display screen list as soon as the gate is opened. Our flight was delayed, so we hung around for half an hour. They don't make announcements about delays over the PA because it is a 'quiet airport' (no-one told the lady who was using the PA to tell us not to smoke). Suddenly the gate was open, we moved forward, but great efforts were made to persuade us to sit down again to avoid an unsightly queue, but we resolutely kept standing, and submitted ourselves to the first of 3 back to back ID checks. Got to the gate itself (check number two) and down an escalator to a tatty ground floor area, waiting for access to the transit bus, two of which were parked by the doors. The escalator continued to bring more and more people down from upstairs. Still no exit was allowed to the bus. A man struggled through the crowd with a key. It didn't fit the door lock. The escalator had been turned off by now, to stop people tripping over each other at the bottom. The man tried the other door. An ironic cheer went up as the door opened. Time for our third ID check and on to the bus, which then didn't leave for a few minutes, even though it was obvious more the one bus would be needed. We set off on another extended tour of the airport perimeter and arrived at the foot of the aircraft's steps. Naturally, only the rear door was available to us Economy class passengers, so boarding was slow. All in all, not a brilliant experience. Hope the new terminal opens soon and is better than the current one.

Not satisfied at Doha transfer desk section, service is poor. They don't have enough staff at the counter desks, there were 9 counters, but only 3 staff members assisting the long queue of passengers. No special/fast track counter desk for transfer passengers with only an hour allowance and who have to be assisted very quickly for an immediate transfer. As a result, passengers asking for a quick assistance seem like they are begging for service with transfer desk staffs and fighting with a fellow passengers at queue jump to avoid missing the flights. Please improve your service, hoping to have a very fast and smooth transfer on our next flight.

We just transited through here on our way to Amman and found the experience much less stressful than we had expected. By the time we disembarked from our first flight, our next flight was already boarding but the flight attendants assured us it would be fine. The longest part was the bus ride as we flew J class to Doha and then were flying Economy to Amman so the bus first dropped the continuing J class passengers at the Premium Terminal before going to Arrivals and finally to the Transfer terminal. Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised. The security check lines were moving very quickly and, in about 10 minutes, we were at the gate ready to board the bus.

Great airline, but what a shambles at Doha, it is not a pleasant experience. Flew MAN-DOH-KUL with 1.5 hrs change time outbound and 1hr 45mins return. All transfers appear to be by bus, but this is very poor. The ground staff have a completely lackadaisical attitude, it is 15 minutes before you can disembark, then a wait on the bus while the driver chats with his mates. Elementary things like vans being parked on the bus ways delay you even further on what feels like several km from plane to terminal. We only went through security on the return journey for some reason and there were long snaking queues, but the actually processing was OK. When you get to the departure hall it is not too bad, with some nice outlets like Costa that take cards for small amounts for no surcharge. Not that you will get time to use them, as they are calling flights for ‘immediate boarding’ 50 mins before time. None of this was in any way relaxing given the ridiculously short transfer times booked by Qatar Airlines; one party we met had been allowed 31 minutes. I think there is a ‘new airport’ under construction. Until then I would recommend that nobody accepts itineraries that have less than say three hours for transfer, or avoid the place altogether.

I transited at Doha Airport. I understand that the airport is in flux, with new terminal about to be opened. What appears to be confusing at first, turned out to be just fine. I had a 6 hour layover and took advantage of the quiet in Oryx Lounge for $39. For me it was a good value as I was able to take a shower, have a snack at the buffet and a short nap. Waiting in the general transit terminal would haven crowded, noisy and services would have been few. On my way home I had only 30 minutes to transit because my first flight arrived late. I managed to get though to layers of security with ease and board my flight on time.

The airport is small. That's what you'll notice first. Duty Free Selection is excellent. Duty Free staff are very helpful too. The eating out choices are mediocre two or three fast food joint upstairs. According to me the maximum lay over time you can spend here is 2 hrs. Unless of course you have lounge access.

Transited through twice in last week. Airport is of ok quality, quite compact, lots of seating but generally had over crowded feel which let down the experience. Lack of food outlets, and ones available seemed full / lots of rubbish about. Main ground floor is mostly filled by large duty free shop. Problem with airport is buses from planes to/from terminal, does give it the feel and look of a fancy bus station. Going to far side of runway from / to terminal takes ages (15 mins) on the bus, and can stand on the bus waiting another 15 mins waiting for buses in front to let people board the plane before allowed off. Will wait to the New Doha Airport opens before every go through again.

Doha airport is not a place to spend more than an hour in transit. Very poor facilities for longer stopovers. The bus trip from plane to terminal is not a pleasant experience as the journey can take more than 15 minutes and after a long flight the last thing you want is to "strap hang" in a bus which has very limited seating. I would not travel with Qatar again until it upgrades the Doha airport facilities. Even though I have travelled both business class (superb) and economy class (not much better than other airlines) I would not fly Qatar again unless the transit time is no more than one hour. Doha airport is dry (unless you can access the first and business class lounges), yet on the contrary the outbound duty free has a large range of liquor products at very good prices.

Arrived Doha en route Shanghai to Heathrow. Damaged an already inflamed Achilles tendon on stepping up to shuttle bus. On arrival at terminal an official made me sit down whilst he fetched a wheelchair. From then on it was priority treatment. Staff could not have been more kind or friendly. Had travelled out through Doha. Found terminal clean, uncrowded with easy to follow signs. Speak as you find and I found them wonderful.

Other than having to travel between the aircraft and the terminal by bus I have no problems with Doha but my review is based on travelling business class but I've never had any serious problems when flying economy. The new airport should be open soon so its goodbye to the free tour of the airport by bus.

The original terminal, which I used to pass through frequently in the 1990’s, seems to have disappeared, to be replaced with a larger more modern building which is only a temporary terminal pending opening of the new Doha Airport. There are no airbridges, so passengers are bussed to and from the terminal. Many connecting flights have short transfer times (mine was 50 minutes) which considering the time needed to travel to and from the terminal makes for a rushed and somewhat stressful transfer experience. I had been given an orange and yellow trimmed ‘short transfer’ boarding pass on check in with instructions from Qatar Airways to make this visible on arrival at Doha and to follow instructions. As it turned out, no one was interested and there were no ‘short transfer’ lanes open or anyone offering assistance. Fortunately, it was easy enough to identify my departure gate, which was only a short walk away. The terminal itself is rather basic and functional, and still too small for the number of passengers using it, but easy to navigate and seems to do its job effectively enough. I was also impressed that my bags made the connection, but all in all not a particularly enjoyable experience.

I used this airport with my wife and kids on the way to and from Singapore to Paris, flying with Qatar Airways. We did not disembark into a terminal but into buses waiting on the tarmac to bring us to the transit terminal, in the middle of the night. The trips in the buses were long, we were stuck in one of them for 20 minutes at the bottom of the aircraft waiting to board the aircraft, the driving style of the drivers was anything but smooth. The terminal itself was drab and looked very old and tired, with nothing to do in it, (no duty free, hardly any food outlets).

Very smooth and fast on the short transit, but unpleasant and boring for 14 hours stay on my way back home through it. Freezing cold aircon late at night, only three tiny coffee outlets. Two smallish food courts with very limited choice (moderately priced though). Duty free there was a total disappointment in terms of choice and prices. Toilets were clean and well stocked. Used paid lounge (Oryx) and was disappointed with selection of snacks (almost nothing to eat), quality of pastries, selection of drinks. Overall the facility just does its business, but nothing more. Hope the new terminal will be what Qatar Airways deserves.

It is a pity that after a great flight with Qatar Airways from CGK, I have to experience a lot of discomfort from very long bus trip from the plane to the terminal, limited food stalls, limited rest rooms and short of seats. I do not think I will fly with Qatar Airways again although this is one of the best economy class I have ever experienced. It is hard to believe that the bus trip from the plane to the terminal or the opposite can take more than 30 minutes while most of the passenger are without seat, it is very much torturing.

As a special assistance customer, I was terrified of transiting Doha Airport after reading other reviews. However, my experience could not have been more delightful. Upon parking at the stand myself and all other special assistance passengers were disembarked using a lift vehicle and driven in it to the transfer terminal. There we were seated in a reserved area then taken swiftly through security. I was taken to the smoking area whilst my wife checked us in and then we waited for a bus to take us to the aircraft. We again used a lift car to enter it. Super job, most efficient.

Passed though DOH to and from Asia. The transit is pretty unpleasant. All stories about the crowds and queues and bus rides are true. Security check was fast, took about 10 minutes. There weren't enough areas for sitting. One quiet zone with about 40 impressive uncomfortable seats with fridge-atmosphere. Another quiet zone with more seats and a little bit warmer, doesn't deserve to be named "quiet". Lavatories provide just warm water but are clean at least. For people in economy there should at least be a little better organization.

Travelled through this airport twice last month and overall impression was that it is below average. The biggest problem is that there are no airbridges onto the plane so in order to board the aircraft you go down an escalator into a very cramped 'holding area' with hardly any seats before boarding a bus for the very long journey out to the plane. Very poor indeed. Other facilities are quite basic with small, crowded and dirty toilets and a general air of overcrowding, including a horrendously long queue to get into the Oryx lounge. The only positive was that there seemed to be a lot of Qatar Airways staff all around the terminal assisting passengers. I hope the new airport will provide a much better experience for passengers.

Good points: clean, bright, well signposted, sleep lounge for economy passengers, helpful staff. Bad points: small, overcrowded, not many food and beverage outlets, sleep lounges have funny (and uncomfortable) curved loungers. Used buses to take passengers to/from aircraft and terminal. Confusing terminal instructions for passengers debarking.

Have to agree with the earlier posts. I could find only 3 toilets in the Transit Terminal Departures Area - all simultaneously out of operation. A freezing cold terminal in the middle of the night, no facilities, non functioning 'information' screens and lengthy bus rides all conspire to make Doha a fairly dismal place to make a connection. Why on earth have they scheduled so many flights transiting though an airport without a properly functioning terminal? Not recommended - and a poor advertisement for Qatar Airways who are clearly trying to deliver a quality product.

I found airport to be crowded and lacking in the number of rest rooms needed for the passenger traffic. The security lines after getting off the bus seemed daunting, but use of looping lines seem to lessen the chaos. There were quite a few duty free shops, but food and sundry outlets non-existent. Will not transfer in Qatar until the new terminal has been in use for at least a year.

Stayed in Doha 2 nights whilst doing Rome-Singapore. No air bridges. Bus out to plane on departing flight took 30 mins. Airport itself had 1 Costa Coffee outlet past immigration to serve the whole terminal. Toilets in the terminal serving around 12 gates had 2 cubicles and a queue. Would not go back to Doha until they open the new airport.

My only experience of transiting DOH in the past was as a J class passenger and having read the reviews of the airport for transiting 'down the back' I did wonder if I had done the right thing. The flight was an hour early and there transit terminal security check was deserted so there were no bad experiences and I was soon walking around the duty free shops. Cost of food in the food outlets seemed OTT, but there is nothing new in that concept! Boarding for the onward connection was orderly although making everyone use the rear steps for boarding was a pain especially as the other steps wouldn't have disturbed the J class passengers (who in fact hadn't boarded anyway). I sincerely hope that the new airport will do away with the need for bussing (which is pretty much a thing of the past at most airports). Otherwise not half as bad as I feared!

Hundreds of pushing people trying to get through two security gates, queue jumpers, shoving, a few people nearly coming to blows and no air-conditioning. Once inside the facilities are not bad but could be better. This is my third time through the first two times were good but this last time it seems to be copying Heathrow for bad service.

Transit at Doha for SIN-MAD and BCN-SIN flights with Qatar Airways. Airport is absolute chaos. No airbridge, long bus ride between plane and terminals, confusing terminals, unfriendly staff asking nonsense and unnecessary questions which slows down the boarding process. Very slow security clearance, very limited seats. Toilets smell, WIFI is almost non-existent, and I don't even care to visit the duty free shops. Luckily our transit time was between 1-2 hours.

One of the strangest designs I've ever encountered. No air bridges. All aircraft are at remote stands requiring transfer buses, a real pain in the summer heat. Multiple terminals (arrivals, departures/transfers, satellite transfer, premium terminal). Departures/transfers terminal incredibly crowded, even at 1 in the morning. Security lines can be long and slow. Duty free store crowded and difficult to get through. Sparse selection of magazines, books and newspapers.

I have been to Doha airport a couple of times as transit passenger. The airport is quite big, but if we consider the amount of traffic it's handling, it should be much bigger. When busy, it's really over crowded and security check might take more than an hour to pass. Duty free is small but has a good collection of products. On the bright side, toilets are pretty clean, food in the restaurant is nice and plenty in amount, announcement is very frequent. All in all, nice airport, just have to be much more bigger in floor space.

Passed though DOH to and from Europe. The transit is nothing less than horrific. All stories about the chaos and queues and bus rides are true. People were already spilling out of the exit door because of the lines at the security check, there was no line to speak of, and it took me 40 mins to pass through. They are only using 4 of the 10-12 X-ray machines for hundreds of transiting passengers. There weren't enough areas for sitting. For people in economy there should at least be a little organization and cleanliness.

First class Premium terminal. Luxury bus picks you up from plane with 15 seats. Premium terminal has a very limited duty free. There is a games room with a few PS3's, and a nanny room to look after kids, as well as a business centre. First class lounge was not busy. Food was enjoyable and included sushi and fresh exotic fruits. Had a 7 hour connection so was given a twin room which gave a comfortable 4 hour sleep. Spa treatment was overpriced so avoided that. An extremely enjoyable experience.

Does not have a lot to offer except the Oryx Lounge. You can book for 25 pounds (GBP) for use of 6 hours. It has showers, complimentary food and drink (alcohol served until 2am but you have to ask for it at the food counters) and free internet. It provides seating, a small amount of sleeping couches and a smoking room. Staff are very friendly. Lockers are available, although you need to ask for a key at reception. Great value for money and a fantastic place to relax if you have a long transit (I am currently in lounge in a 7 hour transit (12am-7am). Warning, no announcements are made in the lounge so keep an eye on your watch and check the screens in the lounge for boarding gates.

Generally it is a transit/transfer airport. Compared to many other airports it is standard, during peak hours you hardly can move freely in the airport. The duty free is small with limited items available. For such a transit terminal it is not entertaining/accommodating enough. The toilets need improvement, but still adequate. No trolleys available so you need to carry all of your cabin luggage when shopping in the duty free and the queue of the payment point could be a nightmare. Seats are often not enough during peak hours. Since they bussed everyone upon arrival and departure, it was very time consuming. Really hope the New Doha International Airport can be operational soon.

First time visiting Doha and to be honest it is not very good. There is chaos, probably as a result of over- staffing. The staff members walk around arbitrarily opening and closing lines resulting in large masses of people being moving around aimlessly. The bus transfers are long. Much easier to transit through European airports. Duty free on the first floor is pretty nice and there is a smaller duty free shop on the second floor.

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