QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Posted (2 months 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 11479 times:
The New Doha Airport named Hamad International Airport is scheduled to open April 1 (soft opening) to 10 airlines. They are:
1. Air Arabia
2. Fly Dubai
3. Ras Al Khaimah Airways
4. PIA
5. Biman Bangladesh
6. Nepal Airlines
7. Syrian Air
8. Air India Express
9. Yemenia
10. Iran Air
Approximately 32 flights a day will depart from the airport with 220 weekly flights. Only Concourse B (the Eastern wing) will open and the Eastern Runway will be fully operation. There will NOT be any proper duty free nor eateries as I came last week from the airport and nothing has been completed yet.
There are 10 gates in Concourse B (all with jet bridges). 2 of them are designed for the A380.
This is exciting as both airports will be operational until the end of the year when Qatar Airways transfers operations to Hamad Airport.
gr09 From Czech Republic, joined Jul 2008, 108 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (2 months 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 11181 times:
Quoting 777way (Reply 1): why the low class carrier moving there first?
I wouldn't call them low class carriers. My assumption QR negotiated with some airlines that will test the new airport capabilities and tune possible problems before the rest moves across the highway.
That brings up a question - how is QR going to move their planes? Just by landing the inbound planes at NDIA or are they going to move some planes on the ground? I haven't been to Qatar for over a year so I have no idea if they are preparing some connection. Those who travel on the new airport road - any idea?
lightsaber From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 10649 posts, RR: 100 Reply 5, posted (2 months 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 10843 times:
My first rough guess is this is 1mill pax/year. Nor a trivial number, but not huge either.
But what about eateries? Passengers will survive without duty free, but there needs to be some food available. At least coffee and some fast food?
Since all the initial airlines are LCCs, I imagine their landing fees were given a cut.
Now what I question is: Is this enough passengers and flights to pull some load off the old DOH? Since we're looking at only a 6% to 8% of the passengers in an airport growing faster than that. The old airport will still operate far above design capacity. Heck, the new airport will 'fill up' quickly. I expect to see the follow on expansion happen fairly quickly.
Quoting 777way (Reply 1):
why the low class carrier moving there first?
No lounge access. Any carrier who provides lounges for their passengers will have to wait until they are completed.
Quoting 777way (Reply 3):
Why not SV, KU, GF, RJ, ME, MS in there if not EK, EY, and WY?
Many of those airlines provide lounge access. Per wikipedia, June is implied (but not actually stated) when the first lounges will be ready.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 6, posted (2 months 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 10642 times:
Quoting 777way (Reply 1): why the low class carrier moving there first?
Quoting gr09 (Reply 2): I wouldn't call them low class carriers. My assumption QR negotiated with some airlines that will test the new airport capabilities and tune possible problems before the rest moves across the highway.
Well, these carriers won't have lounge access and duty free accesses.
Quoting 777way (Reply 3): Why not SV, KU, GF, RJ, ME, MS in there if not EK, EY, and WY?
They require lounge access.
Quoting LAXintl (Reply 4): They can be good guinea pigs to work out the kinks.
Indeed.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 5): My first rough guess is this is 1mill pax/year. Nor a trivial number, but not huge either.
Actually, this is the number I got as well.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 5): But what about eateries? Passengers will survive without duty free, but there needs to be some food available. At least coffee and some fast food?
When I went, there was NOTHING. However, I wouldn't rule out Costa Coffee since it is owned by Qatar Airways in Qatar. and perhaps a small confectionary store.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 5): Now what I question is: Is this enough passengers and flights to pull some load off the old DOH? Since we're looking at only a 6% to 8% of the passengers in an airport growing faster than that. The old airport will still operate far above design capacity. Heck, the new airport will 'fill up' quickly. I expect to see the follow on expansion happen fairly quickly.
I have done an analysis, and it turned out to be 7-8 percent from the old airport. Let's not forget Qatar Airways is in for a huge expansion this year with lots of new destinations plus cargo expansion.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 8, posted (2 months 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 10265 times:
Quoting debonair (Reply 7):
Will the new airport linked to the old airport by shuttle? How long will it take?
Yes, they will link the two airports by shuttle. If they use the main roads, it will take 10-15 minutes depending on the traffic.
Quoting debonair (Reply 7):
But also Iran Air and PIA are offering Lounge access to their Homa-Class/Business Plus passengers, but not sure about Yemenia...
Iran Air flies a very small plane to secondary cities, and not Tehran. So, its probably some sort of LCC or something. They must've offered a free usuage of the facility though for them to be used.
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 14 Reply 9, posted (2 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 10151 times:
Quoting 777way (Reply 1): why the low class carrier moving there first?
I guess they've learnt from other big airport openings....there will be problems, so might as well send the "lesser" carriers to find out what those problems are. When the new PEK T3 opened, Sichuan Airline (and maybe Shandong Airlines) were the first users, not the much bigger and important Air China.
Whilst they should be able to provide lounge access, it's not a limiting factor. There are plenty of airports around the world that cater for C class pax that have no lounge. E.g. Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria. BA customers in both of those get given a EUR 10 voucher at check in. I think OS/LH give their pax EUR 5.
yowza From Canada, joined Jul 2005, 4781 posts, RR: 17 Reply 10, posted (2 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 10041 times:
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 9): I guess they've learnt from other big airport openings....there will be problems, so might as well send the "lesser" carriers to find out what those problems are. When the new PEK T3 opened, Sichuan Airline (and maybe Shandong Airlines) were the first users, not the much bigger and important Air China.
Quoting 777way (Reply 1): why the low class carrier moving there first?
This is nothing to do with the carriers being low class or lesser in any way. In short, the carriers that have agreed to move are those that have the highest amount of pax originating or destined for Doha as a percentage. Simple as that. You will have noticed that none of these carriers are in an alliance thereby further reducing likelihood of onward travel through Doha. The LCC presence reinforces this.
LGWGate49 From Sudan, joined Nov 2009, 117 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (2 months 2 days 13 hours ago) and read 9914 times:
Sorry have done a search but not found anything. What will be the three letter IATA designation for the new airport? Will it revert to DOH when QR move in?
Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it
AT From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 863 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (2 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 9773 times:
As of now, the two airports appear completely disconnected from each other.
Would it make sense to build a connecting taxiway-- either temporary, to help ferrying planes and equipment during the eventual move; or even permanent, in which case the current airport's runway could serve as a third runway in the future.
Also, of the ten airlines listed above (and I agree with the above poster- with the exception of a few, most are certainly not low-cost carriers), I assume that most of the traffic would be O&D. But for persons who are transferring to another flight that uses the old airport, what would the procedure be?
AT From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 863 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (2 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 9770 times:
Also, incidentally, I noticed on google maps that even though the new runways look absolutely complete,
there are no "X" markings that usually accompany non-operational runways.
3rdGen From Bahrain, joined Jul 2011, 162 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (2 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 9722 times:
The delay at the airport is because the Lounges are not ready. There is a case in court right now between the Doha Airport Authority and the company that was previously called in to set up the lounges. They were later kicked off the job, and a new company was brought in. As a result all the airlines that require lounge access will have to wait while those that do not will start flying there April 1.
Airlines that are not moving there:
QR
EK
EY
GF
UA
KLM
Oman Air
BA
9W
Egypt Air
Kuwait Airways
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Turkish
Royal Jordanian
...and more
Almost all of those with the exception of QR will not have many arriving or departing passengers that are connecting at Doha. It's purely about lounge access.
Quoting AT (Reply 14):
Also, incidentally, I noticed on google maps that even though the new runways look absolutely complete,
there are no "X" markings that usually accompany non-operational runways.
The runways have had X's on them for a long time. However, recently they have started to do test flights into the airports and in the recent past they've used the airport for other purposes (e.g. During the UN climate conference they used it to park the raft of VIP aircraft that flew into DOH), the images you are looking at were probably taken on one of those days. If you take a look at Bing Maps they have X's on them.
It should also be noted that quite shortly the airport will be expanded to the west (towards the old airport) and if you take a look at the Western Runway you can already see the beginnings of taxiways leading out toward that area. If QR reach the size that they have stated publicly then there will be a shortage of parking spots in no more than 2 years.
Also, incidentally, I noticed on google maps that even though the new runways look absolutely complete,
there are no "X" markings that usually accompany non-operational runways.
There are aircraft that land there every day for testing purposes. Last week I went into an A300 cargo in the new airport.
Quoting AT (Reply 13): Also, of the ten airlines listed above (and I agree with the above poster- with the exception of a few, most are certainly not low-cost carriers), I assume that most of the traffic would be O&D. But for persons who are transferring to another flight that uses the old airport, what would the procedure be?
There will be shuttle busses between DOH and Hamad.
The delay at the airport is because the Lounges are not ready. There is a case in court right now between the Doha Airport Authority and the company that was previously called in to set up the lounges. They were later kicked off the job, and a new company was brought in. As a result all the airlines that require lounge access will have to wait while those that do not will start flying there April 1.
I truly dont blame the Lounges company. The airport has a lot of other things to complete other than the lounges. But, we'll see the verdict (maybe after some time) but well see.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 18, posted (2 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 9421 times:
Quoting TS-IOR (Reply 17): By the way, is it an entirely new airport or just an extension of the present DOH with new terminals and runways on the other opposite side ?
A totally new airport. Its separated from DOH by a 2 kilometer stretch of desert to the East. Half of it is reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf.
3rdGen From Bahrain, joined Jul 2011, 162 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (2 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 9364 times:
Whats the deal with the shape of the airport? I've seen a number of other airports (namely Hong Kong) that are built in exactly the same shape. Is it the same company that did both or have companies just decided that this is the most efficient design? There's also one in China that looks the same, can't remember which one though.
Markam From United States of America, joined Jan 2008, 277 posts, RR: 2 Reply 20, posted (2 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 8994 times:
What will happen to the old airport? Will the land be kept for an eventual expansion of the new airport (third runway?), or will it be redeveloped for other purposes?
TS-IOR From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 3295 posts, RR: 7 Reply 23, posted (2 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 8591 times:
I think it's better for the travel industry intervenants and travelers to keep IATA code DOH as they did for MUC. As for the architecture, New Doha was constructed by Turkish TAV Construction. Maybe they have chosen that shape for functionality, and with regard to the available piece of land of course. They may also have been urged by any deadline to finish construction and hand the building operative on time !
r2rho From Germany, joined Feb 2007, 2245 posts, RR: 1 Reply 25, posted (2 months 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 8610 times:
What will happen to the old airport once the new one is fully complete? Will it shut down or complement it (at least the runway I think could be perfectly complementary, a bit far-spaced but no worse than the Polderbaan)
Quoting AT (Reply 13): the current airport's runway could serve as a third runway in the future.
Whats the deal with the shape of the airport? I've seen a number of other airports (namely Hong Kong) that are built in exactly the same shape. Is it the same company that did both or have companies just decided that this is the most efficient design? There's also one in China that looks the same, can't remember which one though.
It was designed by HOK architects who are also the designers for HKG. The shape is the most effient in airport design-- much better than some airports like KUL, where you have two terminals connected by an external train, or Dubai (one long piece of building).
kevin From Canada, joined Dec 2000, 1129 posts, RR: 0 Reply 27, posted (2 months 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 7982 times:
Quoting QatarA340 (Thread starter): The New Doha Airport named Hamad International Airport is scheduled to open April 1 (soft opening) to 10 airlines. They are:
1. Air Arabia
2. Fly Dubai
3. Ras Al Khaimah Airways
4. PIA
5. Biman Bangladesh
6. Nepal Airlines
7. Syrian Air
8. Air India Express
9. Yemenia
10. Iran Air
Isn't QR moving all its cargo ops to the new airport on April 1st as well?
kevin From Canada, joined Dec 2000, 1129 posts, RR: 0 Reply 28, posted (2 months 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 7974 times:
And what about Amiri? AFAIK their terminal is complete. Will they move their ops to the new airport ASAP as well. I'm sure their movements are not that frequent but will still relieve the current airport .
AABB777 From United States of America, joined Oct 2007, 448 posts, RR: 0 Reply 29, posted (2 months 2 days 2 hours ago) and read 7666 times:
From what I have heard both the current Doha airport and the new (Hamad) Doha airport will operate under the same DOH IATA code. The ATC tower at the current airport will direct traffic for both airports.
3rdGen From Bahrain, joined Jul 2011, 162 posts, RR: 0 Reply 30, posted (2 months 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 7465 times:
Quoting QatarA340 (Reply 26): What will happen to the old airport once the new one is fully complete? Will it shut down or complement it (at least the runway I think could be perfectly complementary, a bit far-spaced but no worse than the Polderbaan)
No the old airport will remain open for some time until the expansion at Hamad is complete. There isn't space at Hamad for a number of users at DOH such as Gulf Helicopters and the College. Eventually it will be demolished and there is a plan to build a mix of residential and commercial building in the area, the plans:
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 31, posted (2 months 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7350 times:
Quoting kevin (Reply 27):
Isn't QR moving all its cargo ops to the new airport on April 1st as well?
Cargo ops will move April 15 or so according to AAB.
Quoting kevin (Reply 28): And what about Amiri? AFAIK their terminal is complete. Will they move their ops to the new airport ASAP as well. I'm sure their movements are not that frequent but will still relieve the current airport .
There is a big (and useless) Arab summit coming up at the end of the month--so I assume that they might try to open the Amiri terminal by then.
Quoting AABB777 (Reply 29): From what I have heard both the current Doha airport and the new (Hamad) Doha airport will operate under the same DOH IATA code. The ATC tower at the current airport will direct traffic for both airports.
Can the ATC handle traffic from that far away? (5 km away?)
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 36, posted (2 months 20 hours ago) and read 6576 times:
Hamad airport’s cargo terminal to open in April
Quote: Tripling the existing capacity, the new $1bn world-scale cargo terminal at the Hamad International Airport will be officially open on April 8, Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar al-Baker said yesterday.
The new complex, covering an area of 290,000 sq m, will handle 1.4mn tonnes of freight a year, al-Baker said on the sidelines of the seventh IATA World Cargo Symposium at the Sheraton.
The new cargo complex is made up of seven facilities, including some 42 airside loading docks, 32 landside loading docks, an air-conditioned warehouse, an automated storage system, a dedicated live animal centre and a cargo agents’ facility.
Of the 121-strong Qatar Airways fleet there are eight freighters, al-Baker said.
They will use the trucks to move stuff back and forth from DOH to the new DOH. That means it will open a week after passenger flights.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 39, posted (1 month 2 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 4982 times:
The New Airport Will Open in Less Than 15 HOURS!!! By The Way, for logistical reasons, the New Airport will be called Terminal 1 and the current airport will be called Terminal 2.
CaliAtenza From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 1126 posts, RR: 0 Reply 41, posted (1 month 2 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 4930 times:
Passengers wanting a beverage or snack before they fly will be able to visit the café located in Concourse B at the far end of level 1. Before boarding, they will also be able to visit the express duty free store to browse a wide range of products on offer or pick up any last-minute items. A newsagent will also be available for passengers to purchase magazines, books and newspapers.
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 43, posted (1 month 2 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 4806 times:
Well, let's hope it will be a nice airport, since the 'old' DOH airport is a dump, bringing back the so called 5-star airline QR to just 1 or 2 stars. I had unpleasant connections there, rude ground staff on the apron and the transit buses, and these bus rides all around the runway just took too long.
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2007 posts, RR: 14 Reply 44, posted (1 month 2 weeks 5 days 14 hours ago) and read 4576 times:
What happens to Qatar Airways' premium passengers? Today there is this wonderful Premium Terminal where there are never any waits at passport and security control, the lounges are fantastic and passengers are driven to their planes.
Will there be something similar in the new airport? Or will premium pax use the same passport and security lines?
I understand its the 1st of April but doesn't appear to be a joke...
WHAT AN EMBARASSEMENT!!
I think people in Berlin better than God that their airport was not delayed 2 hours before the first flight-- AND THERE WERE PASSENGERS IN THE AIRPORT BY THE WAY!!
To think, I was sitting down to write an April Fool's thread on the new airport opening (come on! It was scheduled to open on April 1st... just begging for some fun). But someone beat me too it...
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 51, posted (1 month 2 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 3642 times:
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 50): I personally cannot believe that a massive new airports 'soft launch' would be delayed less than 24 hours prior to opening.
Make THAT less than 1.5 hours before the opening! There were media personnel, passengers waiting at the terminal; there seemed to be utter confusion as to IF the airprot is opening. I went to the airport and found out myself that it has been delayed. WHAT A DISSAPOINTMENT!
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 50): Ok, is it possible to cut through the April 1st chatter and find out more?
Exactly..
Apparently after the Villagio disaster, they seem to have made stricter fire saftey measures. Dont these people know to check the fire saftey more than 5 hours away from the opening?!
Corruption. Overbudget. LACK OF PLANNING! This is not Berlin. There won't be people fired. Just another project in Qatar. Welcome to Doha.
YVRtoYYZ From Canada, joined Mar 2004, 633 posts, RR: 0 Reply 53, posted (1 month 2 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 3192 times:
312033 OBBBYNYX
(A0203/13 NOTAMR A0188/13
Q)OBBB/QFAXX/IV/NBO/A/000/999/2516N05137E005
A)OTHH B)1303312030 C)1305312359 EST
E)OPENNING OF HAMAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WILL BE DELAYED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
lightsaber From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 10649 posts, RR: 100 Reply 54, posted (1 month 2 weeks 4 days 5 hours ago) and read 3109 times:
I'm still in amazement on how:
1. How can you schedule an airport opening, even a soft opening, on 4/1 ?
2. Who holds a safety review immediately before an airport opening?
They should have been down to action items and closeouts! Minor stuff too... e.g., have mechanics fix door #44 lock or: Lock out lights in store X until electrical panel Y upgraded.
Who was doing the action item burn down?
Seriously, the airport should have been dry tested 30 days ago and all the rush to ensure enough charging stations for cell phones, power at the right shops, and if the coffee shop has enough cups!
Did they perform trials with a thousand people without meeting safety (e.g., fire) codes? Maybe I'm just used to US regulations, but I couldn't bring non-construction workers into a building (hangar) until I received a little piece of paper from the fire chief.
They would have known two weeks ago if they met safety codes...
Quoting QatarA340 (Reply 51): Corruption. Overbudget. LACK OF PLANNING! This is not Berlin.
But apparently the two airports are in competition to delay openings as much as possible to look like fools...
Quoting YVRtoYYZ (Reply 53): E)OPENNING OF HAMAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WILL BE DELAYED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 55, posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 2785 times:
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 54): 1. How can you schedule an airport opening, even a soft opening, on 4/1 ?
This is exactly what I thought. In a normal country some people would get fired for this. In Qatar, its a pat on the back and giving them a 1000th chance to make it good.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 54): 2. Who holds a safety review immediately before an airport opening?
I understand after the Villagio disaster, there has been a change in the method of obtaining a fire saftey permit--which is much stricter than before. IKEA, which was the last "big thing" to debut in Qatar last month, was delayed for 3 months because of the same reason--even though it was already compelte and stocked. But, come on, this is a 15$ b project and the face of Qatar to the world! WHY ON EARTH DIDNT THEY THINK OF THAT BEFORE. Honestly I beleive there is something more than the permit. Its a conspiracy! (Maybe not Hollywood style, but surely there is something more going on)
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 54): They should have been down to action items and closeouts! Minor stuff too... e.g., have mechanics fix door #44 lock or: Lock out lights in store X until electrical panel Y upgraded.
When I was part of the trials, I noticed that for the most parts it was going to be a rush to get things completed and shiny for the opening. Guess I was right.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 54): ensure enough charging stations for cell phones, power at the right shops
Not enough.
Quoting lightsaber (Reply 54): Did they perform trials with a thousand people without meeting safety (e.g., fire) codes? Maybe I'm just used to US regulations, but I couldn't bring non-construction workers into a building (hangar) until I received a little piece of paper from the fire chief.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 56, posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 2517 times:
تأجيل افتتاح المطار «6» أشهر
علمت الوطن أنه تم نقل موظفي مطار حمد الدولي إلى مطار الدوحة بعد إرجاء انطلاق عمليات بدء التشغيل والتي كان من المفترض أن تبدأ فجر أمس الأول.
وبحسب المصدر فإن الموظفين سيبقون في مطار الدوحة الدولي لمدة تتراوح ما بين 4 إلى 6 أشهر إلى الانتهاء من استيفاء كافة شروط الإدارة العامة للدفاع المدني.
وتعد هذه هي المرة الرابعة التي يتم فيها تأجيل افتتاح مطار حمد الدولي بالرغم من البيانات الصحفية التي صدرت مؤخرا عن هيئة الطيران المدني والتي أعلنت فيها انتهاء التجارب التشغيلية بنجاح وجاهزية مطار حمد الدولي لاستقبال شركات طيران الاقتصادي، والتي كان من المفترض أن تبدأ العمل مطلع إبريل الحالي، بالإضافة إلى تضارب الأرقام حول عدد شركات الطيران التي ستبدأ بالعمل فور بدء عمليات مطار حمد حيث كانت في البداية 12 شركة ثم تحولت إلى 11 وفي نهاية المطاف بلغت 10 شركات طيران.
واستغرب العديد من المواطنين والمراقبين من تأخر لجنة تسيير مشروع المطار في استيفاء شروط الدفاع المدني.
واعتبروا ذلك تخبطا إداريا كان بالإمكان تجاوزه لو تم التخطيط بشكل مبكر وليس في ليلة افتتاح المطار الجديد
Translation: Blah blah blah: Expected delay of 4-6 months is expected!
flylonghaul From Australia, joined Feb 2010, 108 posts, RR: 0 Reply 58, posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 2322 times:
What happened to all the passangers that were scheduled to depart? They must have been absolutely furious. I know I would be!
What a shocking way to handle such a major project
mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2007 posts, RR: 14 Reply 60, posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 2101 times:
My nerves were wrecked. I was CERTAIN that the airport was not going to open as planned yesterday and I had some pretty substantial bet outstanding. I had to wait until a couple of hours before the opening to figure out that I had won the bet.
QatarA340 From Qatar, joined May 2006, 1599 posts, RR: 7 Reply 61, posted (1 month 2 weeks 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 1940 times:
Quoting BHMNONREV (Reply 57): This was just what Boeing needed to get AAB off of their backs over the 787 problem. He can't be a very happy man right now..
I think this is identical to the Boeing 787 problems. What a mess.
Quoting flylonghaul (Reply 58): What happened to all the passangers that were scheduled to depart? They must have been absolutely furious. I know I would be!
What a shocking way to handle such a major project
Well, there was only one flight that was scheduled to depart, and thanksfully there weren't a lot of passengers in the terminal. The old airport is only 7 minutes away by car and they can easily go there.
Quoting Nimish (Reply 59): The good news (silver lining) is that hopefully the new opening date will be far enough to kind of "merge" with the main planned opening.
We do not know that as of yet. Hopefully, they will do something in the next couple of weeks.
Quoting mozart (Reply 60): My nerves were wrecked. I was CERTAIN that the airport was not going to open as planned yesterday and I had some pretty substantial bet outstanding. I had to wait until a couple of hours before the opening to figure out that I had won the bet.
flylonghaul From Australia, joined Feb 2010, 108 posts, RR: 0 Reply 62, posted (1 month 2 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 1647 times:
Quoting QatarA340 (Reply 61): Well, there was only one flight that was scheduled to depart, and thanksfully there weren't a lot of passengers in the terminal. The old airport is only 7 minutes away by car and they can easily go there.
Well at least there werent too many inconvenienced by the mishandling.
If you were someone who does not fly very often this must have been extremely confusing.
Oh im sorry this airport isnt open, we are going to take you to another airport to board your flight.
lightsaber From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 10649 posts, RR: 100 Reply 65, posted (1 month 1 week 2 days 13 hours ago) and read 827 times:
And will airlines be as willing to switch? I would schedule my airline's switch a week or more after the first airline *at a minimum.* Who will go first for round 2?
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The old airport will still operate far above design capacity. Heck, the new airport will 'fill up' quickly. I expect to see the follow on expansion happen fairly quickly. 
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