Passenger traffic at Doha’s Hamad International Airport grows by 20%

HIA also saw 118,069 aircraft movements from January to June 2016 - a 17 per cent increase in aircraft take-offs and landings at the airport, compared to the same period in 2015. This growth is attributed to the continuous expansion of Qatar Airways with eight new destinations added in the first half of the year namely, Adelaide, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Los Angeles, Marrakech, Ras Al Khaimah and Yerevan as well as new flights by Philippine Airlines, Atlas Global Airlines and Himalaya Airlines.

HIA’s top routes in regards to passenger numbers during the first half of this year were Dubai, London, Bangkok, Bahrain and Colombo, generating collectively 20.3 per cent of the airport’s traffic. The UAE topped all countries in terms of total passenger numbers followed by India, Saudi Arabia, USA and United Kingdom. Regionally, the Far East achieved a 33.6 per cent share of passenger movements, followed by the Middle East with 22 per cent and Europe with 21.6 per cent during the same period.

Commenting on the airport’s figures, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, said: “The first six months of this year have been the busiest for our airport to date, achieving record passenger and aircraft movement traffic. We expect HIA to continue demonstrating a healthy and steady growth in passenger numbers for the rest of the year, supporting Qatar’s vision for HIA to be a leader among global aviation hubs.”