On Thursday, International Airlines Group, which includes Aer Lingus and British Airways, announced a record profit of about $1.4 billion for the first half of the year. IAG’s CEO Luis Gallego said in a statement that the group is setting its sights on returning to pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year. “Customer demand remains strong across the Group, particularly for leisure travel, with around 80% of passenger revenue for the third quarter already booked.
But after winning its bid, Qatar invested some $220 billion into developing new transit systems and housing developments to accommodate an international audience. The venture was a success, with first-round tournament ticket sales surpassing 3 million, according to FIFA. In its report, Qatar Airways said that, throughout the 2022 World Cup, the company operated around 140,000 flights to bring more than 1.4 million people to Qatar.