Hamad International Airport (HIA) has announced that it has served a record 38,786,422 passengers in 2019, which is the most number of passengers it has served since the start of its operations in 2014, making 2019 HIA’s most successful year yet. This also shows a year-on-year growth of 12.44% compared to passenger numbers in 2018.
Eight new passenger destinations were added to HIA’s global network in 2019 which were Davao- Philippines, Rabat– Morocco, Izmir-Turkey, Gaborone- Botswana, Langkawi- Malaysia, Mogadishu– Somalia, Malta and Lisbon– Portugal. Three new cargo destinations were also added to HIA’s network which are namely Istanbul, New York and Almaty.
Fifteen airlines operating at HIA increased their weekly flight frequencies including Kuwait Airways, Salam Air, Philippine Airlines and Oman Air. HIA also welcomed two new airline partners, Air India and Tarco Aviation. This led to HIA handling 232,917 aircraft movements in 2019, which is 5.57% more than the previous year.
Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport stated: “2019 has been a spectacular year for HIA, having broken our record for the most number of passengers ever served since commencing our operations. Looking ahead, we’re focused on increasing our operational capacity through our major airport expansion project which is a vital part of the airports rapid growth and the country’s preparations to host the 2022 World Cup and beyond.”
HIA announced its multi-phased airport expansion plan in 2019. Phase A of the expansion is set to comprise of a central concourse linking concourses D and E and will increase the airport’s capacity to more than 53 million passengers annually by 2022. Phase B, which will be completed after 2022, will extend concourses D and E to further enhance the airport’s capacity to more than 60 million passengers annually. The expansion project will also feature a 10,000 sqm indoor tropical garden, a 268 sqm water feature, 11,720 sqm of landscaped retail and F&B space and 9,000 sqm of world-class Al Mourjan lounge.
HIA also introduced innovative solutions in 2019 to achieve operational excellence and enhanced passenger experience in the terminal. The airport implemented advanced software solutions for passenger forecasting and queue measurement which provides real time passenger traffic forecasting as well as calculating waiting times and throughput which are visualized on a live dashboard, allowing the airport to keep waiting times in check. The software has enabled the operational staff to be proactive and stay agile in the terminal’s dynamic environment.
Along with HIA’s self-check-in and self-bag-drop kiosks, which was introduced in the terminal to provide passengers with a faster and smoother check in process, HIA recently introduced ten automated security gates at the pre-immigration area, so passengers can scan their own boarding cards and proceed to immigration, providing passengers with a truly autonomous travel experience.
