HIA expects record number of passengers

HE Akbar Al Baker, Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Chief Executive of Qatar Airways Group, has said that Hamad International Airport (HIA) hopes to reach record numbers this year by leveraging post-covid recovery and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022’s global exposure.

According to a recent HIA report, passenger numbers increased by more than double annually to reach 35,734,243 in 2022, which is +101.9% higher than the figure for 2021 and 92.1% higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 total. “We are already nearly 37 million passengers at Hamad International Airport. In 2019, just before COVID-19, we were 39.5 million passengers. So we are very close, but we are hoping we will break a record on the number of passengers that will pass this year,” Al Baker said during a press conference for the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition. Al Baker pointed out that even though the World Cup is finished, the airport, which presently serves about 170 destinations, would achieve tremendous success if it were to reach record numbers.