Manama: Doha's Hamad International Airport (HIA) has set a new record of passenger traffic and aircraft movements in 2016, handling 37.3 million passengers and 245,800 landings and take-offs during the year.
This outstanding performance represents an increase of 20.5 per cent and 15.8 per cent respectively over last year.
"2016 has been an exceptional year for HIA, serving more passengers than ever,” Badr Mohammad Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport, said, quoted by Qatar News Agency.
On the cargo front, airfreight [cargo and mail] also grew by 20.8 per cent reaching a new high of 1.7 million tonnes for the year.
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During 2016, HIA invested in increasing its capacity and redesigning its operational processes to accommodate the increasing traffic over the coming years.
Concourses D and E, commissioned in October 2015, became fully utilised in 2016, providing eight more contact gates, bringing the total to 41 gates and increasing the total number of flights departing from contact gates.
The additional functional space of 130,000 square metres for passengers expanded terminal capacity, enriched the retail offering and facilitated transfers.
On the operations side, 15 new aircraft parking stands have been constructed to support the hub operation of Qatar Airways.
During 2016, HIA also witnessed a growth in network with Qatar Airways connecting Doha directly to 14 new destinations.
