currently boasts a capacity of 30 million annual passengers with the next phases of the development set to expand it to 53 million travellers per annum by 2020, in time for the anticipated boom in arrivals ahead and for the 2022 football tournament.
The dual runway operation allows the landing and take off of some 100 aircraft per hour, two and a half times greater than that of the former Doha International Airport, explained Ehab Amin, senior vice president, commercial, GCC, Levant, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Africa and Indian subcontinent, Qatar Airways, the operator of the airport, adding that as such, the hub presents great opportunities for future growth.
The enhancement of the country’s main entry point is of great importance given the rapidly rising traffic which has established HIA as one of the fastest-growing hubs globally. In 2015, the airport welcomed roughly 30.9 million passengers, exceeding capacity already in the first full year of its operation.
With the impressive figure HIA earned the 16th position on Airports Council International’s annual ranking in terms of the volume of international travellers, competing with some of the world’s most visited destinations.
In the first quarter of this year alone, close to 8.87 million passengers passed through the airfield’s gates, equivalent to a robust 20 percent year-on-year surge, and indicating further improvements in year-end results.
“With the activation of Concourses D and E at HIA as well as the technological advancements […] in the terminal, we are in a position to handle more passengers, aircraft and cargo movements than ever before,” claimed Badr Mohammed Al Meer, chief operating officer, HIA.
The continuous expansion of Qatar Airways has been playing a crucial role in this development.
With the airline now flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations in all corners of the world, Doha has established itself as a major regional as well as international hub, which allows one stop movements from East to West and vice versa.
“[The current year] is set to be a tremendous year of expansion for Qatar Airways; so far this year 10 new destinations have joined our extensive route network,” explained Amin.
Demonstrating the carrier’s growing significance in the skies and underscoring the success of its business strategy, Qatar Airways has almost tripled its operating profit in the last fiscal year to QAR3 billion (USD824 million).
In fact, since 1997, the airline’s annual growth rate in available seat kilometres reached 28 percent and as Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways, noted, the last fiscal year proved to be the best one yet for the company.
Over the 12 month period which ended in March 31, the carrier added 13 new routes, including high-profile destinations, such as Los Angeles and Sydney.
For the current fiscal year, 17 new services have been announced with flights to Adelaide, Atlanta, Marrakech, Yerevan and Pisa having already begun.
Further expanding the airline’s global network, Qatar Airways is also gearing up to commence operations to Auckland, Chiang Mai, Douala, Helsinki, Krabi, Libreville, Lusaka, Nice, Sarajevo, Seychelles, Skopje and Windhoek.
“We have ambitious plans for growth, in line with the vision of the Qatar government,” underlined Amin, referring to the International Air Transport Association’s forecast which anticipates the Middle East to be one of the fastest growing regions globally for air travel.
“[…] Qatar Airways is well positioned to take advantage of this future regional growth in the aviation sector [and fulfil] a key role in the Qatari government’s ambitious National Tourism Sector Strategy,” concluded Amin.
