QATAR. First-quarter passenger numbers at Hamad International Airport (HIA) soared +162% year-on-year to 7.14 million.
HIA – which added three new passenger destinations in the quarter to the 153 it previously served – saw a total of 48,680 aircraft movements across the period (take-offs and landings), up +30% over Q1 2021.
The five-busiest departing destinations during Q1 were Heathrow, Colombo, Kathmandu, Dubai and Malé.
Asia represented the highest market share at 30.93%, followed by Europe (25.2%), the Middle East (16.71%), Africa (12.66%) and North America (11.02%).
HIA Chief Operating Officer Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer said: “Throughout 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact various travel markets, which affected our airport. However, with HIA’s continuous strategic planning, service excellence, and investments in the latest technological innovations, we have seen a steady return of passenger traffic growth.
“This has led to HIA being ranked the sixth-busiest airport in the world for international passengers in 2021, according to Airports Council International. This positive trend has continued to the first quarter of this year, where recovery rose to more than one and a half times in the January to March 2022 period compared to the same period in 2021.
He added: “The gradual easing of travel restrictions led to a noticeable recovery in demand for air travel, mostly by leisure traffic.”
Badr Al-Meer also delivered a bullish outlook for the remainder of 2022. He said: “We are looking forward to a busy summer period as more travel destinations open up around the world; however, the situation for our industry is expected to remain volatile and dynamic in 2022.
“We are taking an optimistic view of the year ahead, in which HIA will host fans from around the world for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We are expecting a resurgence in air travel demand during the summer months.”
The airport’s expansion, currently in Phase A, is set to increase annual capacity to over 58 million passengers by the end of this year. Phase B, which will commence after the World Cup, will increase capacity to more than 60 million passengers.
Note: Martin Moodie is in Doha this week. Look out for his regular reports on this website and The Moodie Blog.
