Traveling through Doha

Doha is a modern airport and serves as a transit hub from many Asian countries, including Australia. However, I will not fly Qatar following an incident about 5 years ago. A newborn baby was found in an airport rubbish bin. All the women from Qatar aircraft on the tarmac were forcibly removed from the planes and into the back of an ambulance, where they had to undergo a non consensual examination. There is currently a lawsuit against the airline and Qatari govt (who owns the airline) by a group of Australian women who were subjected to this indignity and assault. As for the current political situation with Israel, the airspace can be closed if deemed unsafe.

The 2020 incident was widely reported (and pretty shocking).

A BBC article about a recent court ruling in the matter: Australian women win right to sue Qatar Airways over invasive searches

Doha’s Hamad Airport looks fancy, but lots of travelers say it’s chaotic in practice. Think long walks between terminals, poor signage, and up to three security screenings.
Also, free hotel accommodation on long layovers is reportedly hard to qualify for, even if you meet the length requirement, Qatar teams often deny requests citing fare details.

Given a choice I would change in Dubai. Nicer as Persian Gulf cities go and pretty effortless travel at the airport. Doha was never a real favorite in my travels in the Gulf. Keep track of the world situation if traveling in the Gulf in any event.

Good advice above and all things to think about.

In March, I flew through with long layovers twice (flying business). Once I took advantage of the 2 hour $20 (ish) tour through a few points in the city. It was hard to find Discover Doha kiosk but when I did, they facilitated the tour quickly (flying economy might make a difference) and someone waived the visa fee (I didn’t have one). I still had time for dinner in the lounge upon return. On the second time, I just wandered a bit, then went to the lounge for food.

The airport is large and spread out, but other than finding the small Discover Doha kiosk, I didn’t find it difficult. I walked, as opposed to taking the small airport tram. I found lots of official people to ask for directions along the way.

I was flying with miles so didn’t really have options for other airport transfers (like Dubai) on my trip. I won’t ever visit Doha (and don’t expect to be back that direction again) so this was a one time decision for me and the city tour was an easy way to use layover time.

Edit: only my small experience, but I didn’t encounter any extra security screening like you do in Istanbul.

Thanks for all your input.

The Gulf states like to portray themselves as modern countries, but scratch a bit on the surface and it can quickly become obvious that they are Islamic theocracies.

And considering what's happening in the region I would probably choose another route if it was my trip.

Thanks. We may skip the flying through Doha and going to the Seychelles and travel elsewhere. We don't want to take unnecessary risks.