Hamad International Airport

Planning and construction

Planning took place in 2003 and construction began in 2005. The airport (terminal and runway) has been built 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of the older Doha International Airport. It is spread over an area of 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres), and was set to initially serve airlines that will not utilize lounge access.

Hamad International Airport was designed to cater for a projected ongoing increase in the volume of traffic. The airport has an initial annual capacity of 29 million passengers, three times the current volume. Upon completion, it will be able to handle 50 million passengers per year, although some estimates suggest the airport could handle up to 93 million per year, making it the second largest airport in the region after Dubai. It is also expected to handle 320,000 aircraft movements and 2 million tonnes of cargo annually. The check-in and retail areas are expected to be 12 times larger than those at the current airport. The airport will be two-thirds the size of Doha city. The airport has an oasis theme. Many of the buildings have a water motif, with wave-styled roofs and desert plants growing in recycled water. The airport is built over 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi), half of which is on reclaimed land.

The Steering Committee awarded the contract for the development of the airport to Bechtel. The contract includes the design, construction management and project management of the facilities. The terminal and concourses were designed by the architecture firm HOK. Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract for Phase I and II were undertaken by Turkish TAV Construction and Japanese Taisei Corporation.

Opening

Cargo operations began from 1 December 2013, with an inaugural flight by Qatar Airways Cargo arriving from Europe. The original soft launch on 2 April 2013 was cancelled just a few hours prior, and was postponed indefinitely due to unsatisfactory safety related issues that needed further reviewing taking nine months to address. Hamad International Airport was then set to begin passenger operations in January 2014, with a soft opening.

Qatar Airways threatened a $600 million lawsuit against the joint venture contractor Lindner Depa Interiors for delaying the opening of the airport by failing to complete its lounges on time; LDI stated that it was delayed due to inadequate site access. Qatar Airways later blamed Bechtel for the opening delay in April 2013, citing failures to meet regulatory requirements.

Hamad International Airport finally began passenger operations on 30 April 2014, with ten initial airlines operating. Qatar Airways and remaining airlines started operations to Hamad Airport on 27 May 2014 at 09:00 (Qatar time).

An expansion plan announced in September 2015 called for an extension of the check-in area, an expansion of concourses D and E into a 1.3 km long concourse, a new passenger amenity area in the D/E complex with lounges, shops and restaurants, and a connection to the Doha Metro.

Awards and Ranking

In January 5, 2017, Hamad International Airport (HIA) joined the top tier of global airports becoming the sixth airport in the world to receive the ‘5-Star Airport’ designation by Skytrax, the London-based aviation institute and the gold standard for conveying the passenger’s voice in airport and airline rankings. This makes HIA the first ever airport in the Middle East to earn this acclaimed title.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 features First and Business Class lounges which were opened by Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker on June 20, 2014.

Concourse D & Concourse E are due to be extended with a possible Concourse F although plans are still to be finalised

Planned Terminal 2

Qatar plans to build a second terminal only if the present passenger growth outnumbers the projected figures. This looks to be more of a certainty, as some of articles say that terminal two is a confirmed project due to the anticipated passenger load from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Runways

The airport has two parallel runways, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from each other, which are designed for simultaneous take-offs and landings. The first is 4,850 m × 60 m (15,910 ft × 200 ft) and is considered to be the longest runway in Western Asia, and also one of the longest runways in the world. The second runway is 4,250 m × 60 m (13,940 ft × 200 ft).

Passenger