Qatar Airways to hire 10,000 employees ahead of FIFA World Cup in Doha

The FIFA World Cup and post-pandemic expansion have led Qatar Airways to decide to boost its workforce by 10,000.

The Doha-based carrier is on a recruitment drive to take its workforce to more than 55,000 from around 45,000 currently, a spokesperson told agencies on Thursday. This rise will be needed to handle the influx of passengers flying into Doha for the football world cup as Qatar becomes the first Middle Eastern country to host the event.

“Qatar Airways is on a growth trajectory following Covid, and with World Cup preparations in full swing, it is ramping up recruitment across the airline,” the company told Reuters this week.

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India among hiring spots

However, the airline has not revealed how many of these new positions would be permanent. In 2021, it had trimmed the number of employees to fewer than 37,000 after reducing its destinations to 33 cities in 2020. It has since ramped up operations back to more than 150 destinations.

Recruitments were held in India, the Philippines, and other countries at the end of September, the spokesperson said. It is not yet clear how many of the new staffers will be in place when the World Cup kicks off on November 20.

Qatar Airways is in the process of adjusting 70 per cent of its schedule to make way for additional flights arriving in Doha during the tournament. It has canceled other flights and reduced frequencies to free up aircraft to meet demand from fans.

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Old airport reopened

Other airlines will significantly increase flights to Qatar, too. Even an old airport has been reopened for the event. “It will be a huge challenge to be able to manage this very fast-moving demand for very large numbers of spectators,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker told reporters earlier this year.

The tiny country of Qatar will likely face a massive personnel shortage as it prepares to receive an estimated 1.2 million visitors during the month-long World Cup. The event is likely to put pressure on its infrastructure, hospitality, and security sectors.

(With agency inputs)