Doha Airport

Very sad airport. There seems to be plenty of toilet cleaners but the toilets are crowded not so clean and far too few in numbers. The business class lounge is the worst I have seen. The options for eating are severely limited Costas and one other similar place. Not very exciting for a delay of several hours. The single runway means every plane is going to be late. The runway just cannot handle the number of flights and then the terminal cannot handle the number of passengers. We waited one hour to land circled at 15000 feet and then later for the next flight sat on the tarmac all ready to go for 70 minutes before actually taking off. The staff are amiable but unhelpful. The transfer desk was overwhelmed trying to arrange the hordes of passengers who missed flights. The new airport or new terminal has been rumoured to be coming soon for the last couple of years. Alas too late they have lost me.

Disabled assistance at Doha airport is incredibly chaotic and inefficient. I have vowed never to fly Qatar Airways again after this. Upon arrival my disabled husband and I were herded into a "special area". Our passports were taken off us. About 15 mins before our flight was to depart I began to panic and make a fuss (otherwise we weren't going anywhere). They finally loaded us and another disabled passenger onto a special bus to take us to the plane. About 5 mins on the other passengers noticed that they had left her bag with her passport/boarding pass behind so we had to go back. Finally with all bags we get to the plane and the flight has been closed they had to radio for permission from the pilot to reopen the door to let us on. This was granted thankfully and has now delayed the flight. And also no surprise the seat needed by my husband due to his disability had been commandeered by a passenger thinking we hadn't turned up. Don't travel via Doha Airport if you need special/disabled assistance.

Whilst I agree about the time taken to get to the plane by bus I felt that I should add my recent experience of Doha International Airport to redress the balance somewhat. I found it to be a smooth trouble free experience. It took approx 25 minutes from the time that we left our hotel in Doha to the time we were sitting at the gate waiting for our plane to be called (admittedly this was at midnight). There were lots of people about but minimal queues everywhere and the staff that we had cause to speak to were friendly and helpful (including the security man). Perhaps it's a different experience when you're not a transit passenger?

After flying from LHR I had a 1 hour transfer before flying on to Western Australia. This was my first experience of Doha and it wasn't great a 20 minute bus journey took us from the plane to the quick transfer building where I wandered about trying to find the gate the usual queues for security etc. followed by another 20 minute bus journey back to the next aircraft. No time for the toilet food or shopping. Airport was incredibly busy narrow walkways make movement difficult. Hopefully my return (June) will be better but can't imagine I'll be back after that.

Will avoid in future. We were in transit and after a long bus ride in (nearly 20 mins) from the plane there was a long queue to clear security where despite being on the colour coded short transfer queue we found the world and his wife going through the supposedly quick short transfer queue to avoid the long queue in ordinary transfer queue. None of the airport staff seemed to care so what's the point ? As a result we only just made our transfer time and then had another 19 minute bus ride out to the next plane (I timed it). The toilet in the terminal was so crowded and smelly we didn't bother use them. Forty minutes in a bus and queues for thirty minutes just to get onto a plane parked 200 metres from the one we landed in! Never again.

It has all been said by other reviewers but I am so angry with this airport that I will add to the comments. Long bus ride long queues for everything (passport control duty free toilets - I tried three and gave up) then another long bus ride. In and out of the planes up outside steps in the heat or rain. Truly horrible experience at 1am after an already long flight surreal really. Would not fly Qatar again whilst they are using this airport (and I may not bother even when they move to the new airport).

Flew through again on the 19th of December and the new terminal really is needed. Forty minutes of bus journeys and over crowded business lounge again. In addition Qatar airways do not let platinum/emerald card holders use the 1st class lounge!

Flew into Doha Airport from London. We had a 6 hour transit before heading to Bangkok. Arrived at 2am and it felt like a ghost town. We were traveling in Business on Qatar and the Business lounge wasn't very good compared to other countries. It's very over rated and as a seasoned traveler I was very disappointed with the lack of 24 hour service I have had in Asian airports. The lounge already feels very worn and tattered and they only served tea and coffee and soggy sandwiches. If they are trying to compete with Dubai they have no chance in winning. Even compared to old European lounges it didn't strike me as anything too exciting. We even took the shuttle bus to the main airport and the lounge there was tiny and packed so we came back to the Qatar business lounge.

Stopped at Doha airport for a two hour transit en route ZUR-MEL. Even with a young baby it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The bus ride was long but thankfully my wife and child had a seat. Going through security when arriving at the departure terminal took no more than 5 mins. Security at the gate also took no more than 10 mins. Even though we were there during the midnight rush it was busy but not uncomfortable.

Connected from Bangkok to Cairo and back. First experience in Doha. The colour system they have for various passengers is great (yellow tags and cards for transfers Orange for quick transfers etc.). The terminal itself is just a glass box (I expected a larger venue) but functioned well. Clean with a couple of shops here and there but I believe the new airport is to open soon and would reflect Qatar's ambition to offer a world class airport. This one works but lets say it lacks any lustre for me its a non issue as long as all worked fine. The internet is free and appreciated even though works only on one side of the terminal and closer to gate 20 21 22 the signal is barely there and connection almost impossible. Staff are polite especially in the x-ray checks (which is a big issue for me especially in other Middle eastern airports). The only negative point is the people jammed downstairs when boarding the bus. For 2 flights the passengers were lead down but the bus wasn't there yet and it was very uncomfortable having a small room packed with people kids and screaming toddlers. But all in all it went rather well. Toilets need a bit of a face lift!