An airline just added 2 flights from Miami to Middle East. What travelers should know

It’s getting easier to travel between Miami and the Middle East.

Qatar Airways, the namesake government-owned airline, will increase the number of weekly flights between Miami International Airport and Doha from 10 to 12, starting Dec. 16 and for the winter season.

The additions come just eight months after the carrier boosted its weekly number of flights between MIA and Doha from 7 to 10 flights, a sign the carrier recognizes Miami’s growth and that the Gulf region is looking to expand ties with South Florida. At that time, Miami was one of five cities worldwide and the only one in the United States that saw an increase in flights by Qatar Airways.

Flight details

The new flights will depart Doha early Monday and Wednesday mornings, arrive in the late mornings and leave Miami late at night the same days, the carrier said in a statement this week.

The airline also added an eighth daily flight to London, increased service to Male, Maldives, to 28 weekly flights and added an 11th weekly flight to Tokyo for the 2024-25 winter season. Miami is the only U.S. city to see a boost in service.

“Our increased flights during the winter holiday season comes as a response to the needs of our passengers who wish to create unforgettable travel experiences,” Thierry Antinori, chief commercial officer of the airline, said in a company statement on Aug. 19

Qatar, which operates flights to over 170 destinations, was voted by international air transport rating organization Skytrax in 2024 as the world’s best airline for the eighth consecutive year.

10 years of flights with increasing options

Travel between South Florida and Doha has grown significantly since Qatar Airways’ debut flight from Miami to Doha in 2014. The service started with four weekly flights to Miami, the sixth U.S. city served by Qatar.

At that time, there was no competition from other carriers in the Middle East. Today, El Al has daily flights between MIA and Tel Aviv and also flies from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. And Emirates, the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has daily flights between Dubai and Miami.

In June, Emirates added a daily flight between MIA and Bogota, giving the carrier 28 flights between the two cities, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. The carrier will increase that number to 31 by December.

The growth in service is also because Arab Gulf countries are increasing business relationships with Latin America and view Miami as central to that strategy, also investing in infrastructure and mining there.

Qatar Airways increasing business in Florida is also an economic boost for a Middle Eastern country with ties to Miami. The nation hosted last World Cup, won by Argentina and its top soccer player Lionel Messi, now a South Florida resident playing for the Inter Miami professional soccer team.

Qatar Airways has a long-term contract with FIFA through the 2030 World Cup. The United States co-hosts the 2026 World Cup and several matches will be played in Miami. Qatar also sponsors the F1, which held a race at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in May for the second consecutive year.

But Qatar is also engaged in an extensive multi-year marketing campaign to clean up its image. It faced worldwide criticism over how it treated mostly Asian workers who built World Cup stadiums and facilities. A 2023 report by the watchdog Human Rights Watch noted that “migrant workers in Qatar who helped to make the 2022 World Cup possible continued to face serious abuses, including unexplained deaths, injuries, unpaid wages and exorbitant recruitment fees, despite labor reforms.”

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava visited Qatar in 2022 and met with environment minister Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed bin Ali Al Thani on a trip initially paid for by Qatar’s government, the Miami Herald reported. On that trip was her 2020 campaign manager Christian Ulvert, who also has a contract to provide public relations services to Qatar’s U.S. embassy, the Herald reported.

During the Israel-Hamas war, Qatar has provided refuge for Hamas officials. Hamas, considered by the U.S. government as a terrorist group, was behind the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians, killing more than 1,400 and taking hostages to Gaza.