Dreamed up by Icelandair in the 1960s, the airline stopover program encouraged passengers traveling from North America to Europe to stop along the way and spend more time in Iceland, which at the time had been largely overlooked by travelers.
The program is now offered by dozens of major airlines from countries that already have booming tourism industries.
Air France, Turkish Airways, Tap Air Portugal, Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airlines, and Qatar Airways all offer some version of the program, allowing travelers to update their ticket and spend a few extra days in the respective country’s capital city without added costs.
Qatar Airways’ Discover Qatar stopover program, launched in 2021, stands out from competitors. It offers not only a free ticket change, but also up to four nights of hotel accommodations starting at the subsidized price of $14 USD per night for a basic room and $83 for a luxury room.
Qatar Airways expands stopover program to include tickets to Formula One
With the annual Formula One Grand Prix racing event set to take place in Doha at the end of November, Qatar Airways is now expanding the promotion for anyone with booked flights during those dates to include tickets to the event.
The three-day T16 Grandstand ticket to the Formula One Grand Prix 2026 event sponsored by the airline and taking place from Nov. 27 to 29 will be included in the usual Standard, Premium, Luxury, and Premium Beach categories that travelers passing through Doha can choose from if their travel falls within those dates.
Related: Air France just launched a stopover program in Paris
“Packages continue to include flexible 24-hour hotel check-in and check-out benefits and can be further customized with additional experiences such as city tours, beach club access and destination experiences across Qatar,” Qatar Airways explains of the promotion.
“To book the new Stopover packages, customers need to make sure their search dates fall between 27 to 29 November 2026. After selecting their flights and preferred hotels, the three-day race ticket will be included in their package.”
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Grand Prix Formula One: What it is and how to get tickets
Formula One is run on the 5.4-kilometer Lusail International Circuit near Doha and features 11 teams for a total of 22 drivers.
General admission tickets to see the performance of cars specifically constructed to be optimally fast and deft for the racing competition start at €500 (roughly $554 USD) and have in the past sold out weeks before the event.
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As a sponsor of the Grand Prix in the country (the race takes place in different cities around the world throughout the year), Qatar Airways periodically develops travel programs and promotions around the competition.
In the past, these have included tickets offered as raffle prizes and various discounts for members of its loyalty program. That said, 2026 marks the first time the Formula One tickets have been included as part of the stopover promotion.
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