[JohnHarper]

@Ahmad, I had inbound screening at SIN arriving from DOH last week. I also had inbound screening at DOH from SIN the week before. There is no rational!

I’m back to DOH from SIN in a couple of days, let’s see what happens then, so far my rate is 100%.

[Ahmad]

@JohnHarper, the plot thickens. Do let’s know what happens. The apparent randomness may be governed by behind the scene security decisions/information best avoided here. I sympathise with the practice in vogue that one can’t be too careful in these matters.

[HKtraveller]

Ahmed,

I do think you may well be reading too much into the security arrangement at Doha. As far as I am concerned, it is completely and utterly random.
I do the Amsterdam-Doha-Hong Kong run at least 8 to 9 times a year, all with QR, mostly in business class. Upon arrival at Doha, at times, someone will be standing there directing all inbound passengers to the departure area without having to go through security screening. Often, no one is there and everyone has to go one floor up, through the security and then back onto the departure area.
Once I was travelling with some friends from Hong Kong. I was travelling in business and my friends were travelling at the back end of the plane. The plane was parked at a remote stand. We the business class passengers, were bused to the terminal and had to go through security screening. My friends however were bused to a different part of the terminal and went straight into the departure area without having to go through any screening. That created no end of confusions as we were supposed to meet up after security. Same flight, two different treatments!!

[Ahmad]

HKtraveller, I don’t travel via Doha often enough to differing destinations to be able to make a definitive statement. I can, however, say that coming in from Saudi and Pakistan I have always had to go through security and coming in from Singapore and Dubai I have (lately) always gone straight into departures. Coming in from other places has been random. The reasons, I am just guessing…

[AnthonyDunn]

I too have had inbound screening in both directions to/from PER. Which reminds me: DO NOT TAKE ANY ALCOHOL with you from wherever into DOH in your carry-on baggage. It WILL BE CONFISCATED!

You will then immediately pass a duty free shop selling exactly the same items that have only just been confiscated….

Beyond that, DOH is smart, clean and very functional. The business lounge is less a lounge, almost a terminal in its own right (okay, slight exaggeration) and do make the effort to go up the stairs next to the water feature to enjoy the facilities there.

[midorosan]

Amazing that you can be so picky about a little thing like the water “pops” in this amazing lounge, with 10,000 sq.m available you could easily get away from “the noise”. If you had done a little wandering you would have found the area with the full length sleepers beautifully located in little private cubicles one just has to look or even ask!
I spent four hours in this remarkable lounge and was not bored, I had an excellent breakfast with a more comprehensive selection of food than most five star hotels.
For entertainment I had the usual toys iPad and iPhone and with the very good free wifi was able to talk to those people I wanted to.
Charging stations everywhere for the electronics so I could watch live channels using a VPN or my stored videos.
The time went very quickly I accumulated 560 tier points and my Gold status is safe for one more year.

[JohnHarper]

@Ahmad – arrived in DOH earlier from SIN, I thought surely this time there will be no screening given your reports however there was! As ever totally painless, no queue or anything but screening just the same.

I wonder if it’s me!

[SCF]

Security screening is never a consistent practice. One day you are asked to take off your shoes (actually a pair of loafers with almost no heel), the next time you can keep your ‘high’-heeled brogues. Sometimes you have to take your belt off, sometimes not. A simple steel watch can set off the alarm, other times, multiple bangles on the arm make no difference to the X ray machine. iPad out? In? No one knows. Liquid? It depends. if you take them out of the hand luggage or in, what difference does it make tot he screener? The X ray machine can see all the contents anyway. I read sometime ago that the whole ‘security’ procedure was set up post 9/11 but no one knows how to defenestrate it, despite the fact that most airports now have the most sophisticated machines to detect explosives/weapons. Go figure.

[AlanOrton1]

Just on the alcohol point – I’ve purchased alcohol duty free at Heathrow, had it placed in a sealed bag and had no issue with the transit at DOH on the way to HKG.
I remember the cashier at LHR stating that the ME airports were quite strict, but if in a sealed bag (which was provided at LHR) all should be fine.
Not sure if they have a new policy now at DOH, but I had no issues on my last transit, albeit several months ago.

[Ahmad]

@JohnHarper, was your flight early or on time? Just guessing, but it could be simply down to staff not having arrived at the gate on time to open the connecting door or the person(s) giving permission to do so not being available at the time!

[AnthonyDunn]

Alan

On the alcohol point, on both the recent occasions that I transited through DOH, the fact that duty free bags were sealed/completely unopened made no difference: any duty free bags with alcohol were opened, the offending bottle was removed and anyone who protested at this was threatened with arrest.

My advice is DO NOT waste your time and money by attempting to take ANY alcohol in your hand baggage if transiting DOH.

[AlanOrton1]

Thanks for the update Anthony. Any future purchases will be made at DOH not LHR when heading East.

Be helpful if this info could somehow make its way to UK airports to advise unsuspecting passengers…

[JohnHarper]

@Ahmad, we were on time. The ground staff were waiting and the jetty moved into position very quickly. They were certainly ready to help a couple of people who needed assistance so the door could have been open if it should have been.

That said I was through screening in about 15 seconds and the staff were very professional and pleasant. There were no other flights around and as it happened only four of us in business class that day.

Just for form when I left Doha a couple of days later I was pulled for secondary screening at the gate! Again all very professional and correct.

As I continue to wind down my work committments, from the end of December the Gulf will drop from my areas of direct responsibility – so maybe after that they can let flights from SIN through without screening 🙂

[ASEANTraveller]

Flew into DOH a couple of days ago from KUL and had to go through security screening. Have been through new DOH maybe a dozen times from HKG, KUL and SIN to LHR and return, and probably a 50/50 split of yes / no security. Suspect there is either no system or randomness on purpose at work.

[Ahmad]

@JohnHarper,

We wait with bated breath.

Seriously though, the security screening doesn’t bother me as it has not been intrusive so far. It is rather annoying to go up and walk all the way to the screening area when a far less wearisome alternative is available. Then again, it appears from the experience of several posters that I have just been lucky in going straight into departures every time I have come in from Singapore and Dubai.

[Author]

Posts