Doha’s Hamad International Airport, which serves as the hub
for Qatar Airways, has implemented a $10 departure fee.
The fee, which will be collected from both connecting
passengers and those who are beginning their itineraries in Doha, is applicable
to tickets issued beginning Monday for travel beginning Dec. 1. It doesn’t
apply to children under the age of 2 who don’t have a seat and to passengers
who pass through Doha without changing planes.
The airport defended the new fee in statement, saying that
the funds will go toward “enabling its passengers to continue using the
airport’s world-class services and facilities, many of which are
complimentary.”
Those facilities and services include six activity nodes
complete with computer stations, televisions and children’s play areas as well
unlimited complimentary WiFi.
The announcement by the Doha airport authorities came five
months after Dubai International Airport announced that it would begin charging
a $9.50 departure fee.
Hamad International Airport served more than 30 million
passengers in 2015.