Huge Q1 traffic increase at Qatar’s gateway to the world

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport is today reporting that it enjoyed a 162% increase in passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period a year ago.

A total of 7.14 million passengers passed through the gateway in the first quarter of 2022, starting off with 2.1 million in January and February and 2.8 million in March.

Three new passenger destinations introduced over the course of Q1 2022 means that 36 airlines serving Doha now operate routes to 153 destinations across the globe from Qatar’s capital city.

The top five busiest departing destinations from Doha in Q1 were Heathrow, Colombo, Kathmandu, Dubai and Male.

The Far East served the highest market-share at 30.93%, followed by Europe at 25.20%, the Middle East at 16.71%, Africa at 12.6% North America at 11%, Australia at 2.2% and South America at 1.22%.

The Doha gateway handled 48,680 aircraft movements and 585,448 tonnes of cargo during movements in Q1 2022.

Hamad International Airport’s chief operating officer, 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 Jan-to-March 2022 period compared to the same period in 2021.

The gradual easing of travel restrictions led to a noticeable recovery in demand for air travel mostly by leisure traffic.”

Regarding the traffic outlook for 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 in Qatar in 2022. We are expecting a resurgence in air travel demand during the summer months.”