Hamad International Airport achieves record passenger numbers in first quarter of 2016

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Hamad International Airport (HIA) has served a record 8.8 million passengers during the first quarter of 2016, making it the busiest quarter for the airport since its opening in May 2014.

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has served a record 8.8 million passengers during the first quarter of 2016, making it the busiest quarter for the airport since its opening in May 2014. This represents a 20 percent increase from the number of passengers that traveled through the airport during the first quarter of 2015.

In detail, HIA had 8,867,971 passengers pass through its gates during the first quarter of 2016, with a record 3,089,826 passengers departing, arriving and transiting in January which is an unsurpassed figure for a single month for the airport. The months of February and March had 2,722,867 and 3,055,278 passenger movements respectively. The same period in 2015 saw a total of 7,360,145 passengers travelling through HIA, including 2,589,400 passengers in January; 2,285,221 in February; and 2,485,524 in March.

HIA also had a significant increase in aircraft movements in the first quarter of 2016 with a total of 58,288 movements, which represents an 8.6 percent increase in aircraft take-offs and landings at the airport, compared to 56,282 movements during the same period last year. The month of January and February saw 19,455 and 18,511 aircraft movements respectively, followed by the month of March with unprecedented 20,322 aircraft movements, which is the highest the airport has had.


Cargo tonnage totaled 389,950 tons in the first quarter of 2016 with 125,907 tons of cargo handled in January, 122,227 tons in February and 141,815 tons in March.

The airport ended the previous year on a strong note having handled 30.9 million passengers from January to December 2015. It handled a total of 1.4 million tons of cargo as well 212,252 aircraft movements.

Commenting on the airportโ€™s record-breaking figures, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, said: โ€œWith the activation of concourses D and E at HIA as well as the technological advancements being implemented in the terminal, we are in a position to handle more passengers, aircraft and cargo movements than ever before. We expect a steady growth in numbers for the remaining year as well.โ€

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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