Traveling through Doha

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

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.