Originally Posted by
neuro0
Do they fill the seaplane up to capacity?
Anyone going from US has transfer via Doha recently? How bad is the long transit at the airport in the QR lounge?
Covid test coming back to US, how much? What is the Conrad's plan if one test positive ? Can you request a retest?
We had ~3.5 hour layover in Doha on the way there, ~8.5 hours on the return (overnight, 11:30 - 8 AM). The lounge is really nice, between checking out the airport shops, and food + shower in the lounge, the shorter layover passed very quickly.
On the return, we booked a room at the Oryx Airport Hotel. It is in the secure area, right near all the shops and gates, and they suggested checking out about an hour before the flight time, more or less as boarding is beginning. They said if we wanted breakfast in the lounge we could check out earlier, but as we were flying in business, it seemed silly to wake up an extra hour early just to have another breakfast before getting more food on the plane. We were asleep by midnight and woke up at 6:30, in time for a shower before boarding. Bags are checked through so pack a change of clothes in your carry-on if you want. I highly recommend the hotel option if you are there overnight.
There were always a few empty seats on the plane, but it was pretty full. It only holds 15 people, expect most rows to have a person or two, even if the plane is not completely full. On both the outbound and the return, the seaplane stopped at another hotel in the same atoll, 5-10 minutes away from ours, before continuing on. This meant that it got much less crowded after the stop for the final few minutes of our flight there, and had a few extra people after the stop on the way back.
Our host told us that they are required to keep some percentage of available rooms unsold for quarantine purposes in case anyone tests positive, and he said there was one couple when we were where that one of the two had tested positive. He said that the positive case had no symptoms and he expected that they would retest after a couple of days and get cleared to leave, but I do not have any confirmation aside from this anecdote. No idea how/if /what they charge if you're stuck there after your stay, what they do for food or how long they require waiting, or what happens if there is a symptomatic case or one requiring medical attention. Best to check with the hotel directly.