COVID19: Hamad Int. Airport in Qatar Implements New Arrival Procedures

Following the gradual lifting of COVID19 restrictions across Qatar, Hamad International Airport (HIA) is applying newly modified procedures for arriving passengers.

The airport has customised its procedures based on the categorization of arriving passengers as follows:

- Group One: Qatari citizens, their spouses and children, permanent residency holders;

- Group Two: includes vulnerable passengers that have certain identified medical conditions or are aged 55 and above;

- Group Three: passengers arriving from ‘low-risk countries; and

- Group Four: passengers arriving from ‘high-risk countries’.

Qatar's Ministry of Public Health website has the latest list of countries classified as high and low-risk.

All arriving passengers will be thermally screened at the airport. Passengers must have the EHTERAZ mobile application downloaded and installed on a smartphone which requires a SIM card. Volunteers are available to help set up passengers with the EHTERAZ App. Smartphones and SIM cards are also available for purchase at the airport.

All passengers must also fill out a health assessment form and sign a quarantine pledge agreement, preferably filled prior to arrival into Doha and submitted upon arrival.

Passengers arriving from ‘high-risk countries’ will proceed to immigration whilst presenting their hotel booking to the immigration officer. Once all arrival formalities have been completed, passengers will be transported to their quarantine hotel.

All other arriving passengers will be diverted to designated airport testing facilities where they will receive swab tests. Once testing is complete, passengers will then proceed to immigration for entry processing. Those passengers can use private transportation to their home quarantine. The airport’s taxi pavilion is also available.

To ensure the health and wellbeing of its staff and passengers, HIA has introduced a series of measures including the implementation of robotics and advanced thermal screening helmets.

The airport cleans and disinfects all high contact areas every 10-15 minutes. Hand sanitisers are also readily available for passengers at key locations across the airport, and the airport maintains 1.5m social distancing across all passenger touchpoints around the airport, through floor markings, signage, and distance seating.

See also: How's Business in Myanmar? Interview with Torsten Edens, SVP of Memories Group.

See latest Travel News, Video Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: COVID19, Hamad, Doha, Qatar.