QATAR. Hamad International Airport (HIA) handled a record 17.6 million passengers during the first half of 2016, an increase of more than +20% year-on-year.
Aircraft movements increased +17% to 118,069, driven by the expansion of national carrier Qatar Airways. Eight new destinations were added in the first half: Adelaide, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Los Angeles, Marrakech, Ras Al Khaimah and Yerevan. Philippine Airlines, Atlas Global Airlines and Himalaya Airlines also added flights to and from the Qatari capital.
The busiest routes were Dubai, London, Bangkok, Bahrain and Colombo, which collectively generated 20.3% of traffic. The UAE accounted for most passengers, followed by India, Saudi Arabia, the USA and the UK. Regionally, Asia achieved a 33.6% share of passenger movements, followed by the Middle East with 22% and Europe with 21.6%.
HIA Chief Operating Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer 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.
“We are therefore committed to further invest in the development of HIA, by adding capacity, improving connectivity and delivering the best services to our travellers who have voted us as one of the top ten airports and the fifth best airport shopping in the world for 2016, and the top airport in the Middle East for the last two years.”
Hamad International Airport is the hub for Qatar Airways, which now flies to more than 150 destinations worldwide, making Doha a global hub for business and leisure travel.
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