Airports across the world have been experiencing a crunch time for the last couple of years with lesser passenger footfall and cargo movement, because of the COVID-19 pandemic raging throughout the globe. Several airlines serving international and domestic destinations had to ground their entire fleet of aircraft for lack of passengers, travel restrictions and lack of staff.
Hamad International Airport (HIA), the hub of Qatar’s award-winning flag carrier Qatar Airways, was one of the very few airports which never halted operations. HIA, since its opening in 2014, has been continuously winning accolades for the unparallelled service it offers to the passengers and airlines alike from every corner of the world.
When the pandemic struck also the airport stood up to its reputation with implementing additional health and safety measures to keep its traveller guests protected at the airport and throughout their air-bound time.
As a result of such unmatched facilities and reliable services, confident travellers never stopped flocking the Qatari airport and recently the HIA disclosed that it hit a high mark of 41.37 percent increase in passenger footfall as the airport served an incredible 17.7 million passengers in 2021 compared to the previous year. Cargo operations at the airport also increased by 20.71 percent, with 2.6 million tonnes of cargo handled in the same period, while the aircraft movement at HIA also witnessed a growth of 28.12 percent with 169, 909 aircraft take-offs and landings.
This is no minor achievement as the pandemic still continues with its scourge and travellers are reluctant to take to the air and most of the companies are experiencing disruption to their operations affecting the volume of cargo movement. There is no doubt that the extra precautionary measures put in place by the Doha airport has been instrumental in boosting the confidence and trust of passengers who could travel in and out of the airport safely.
The several awards the airport bagged last year are all testament to its credibility. HIA ranked number one by Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021, and it won the Best Airport in the Middle East the Best Airport to 25 to 35 million Passengers accolades also last year. The airport’s consistency and innovative ways it adopted to combat the pandemic led to its recognition as the Best Airport Staff in Middle East and COVID-19 Airport Excellence.
The Qatar Duty Free also added to the fame of the airport with numerous new concepts, brand stores, food and beverage outlets of world-renowned brands and boutiques etc which served every segment of travellers passing through the airport.
