Air India plans more UAE and Qatar flights for FIFA World Cup

 

Tata-owned Air India plans to offer more flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar as the FIFA World Cup excitement shoots up, with the opening of the football event in November.

Around 1.5 million fans are expected to arrive in Qatar to attend the football event. Air India will add four weekly flights between Dubai and Kolkata once the winter schedule starts on October 22. The carrier will deploy its Airbus A320Neo single-aisle aircraft, with the capacity of 12 business-class seats and 150 economy seats. Air India is currently operating 69 weekly flights to Dubai, a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates.

Currently, Air India is also selling discounted one-way flight fares for passengers departing from Gulf countries to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day. India’s aviation authority is also lifting the caps on air fares from August 31.

The limits on capacity and fares were imposed in May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

FIFA World Cup

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd running of the FIFA World Cup competition. The schedule is from 21 November to 18 December 2022 in Qatar. Top brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola,  Hyundai, Wanda Group, and Qatar Airways are sponsors of FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar is hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

Earlier, Qatar was criticised by Amnesty International and other international organisations for the working conditions of migrant workers. Qatar World Cup organisers also admitted that workers were exploited working on projects linked to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. More than  24,000 workers suffered human rights abuses in Qatar. Nearly 100 workers who built the Al Bayt Stadium were not paid for up to seven months.  Several reports also claimed that working conditions led to the death of some workers. Amnesty International also urged FIFA organisers and sponsors to act over the alleged abuse of security guards in Qatar.