In the end, it took the Qatar to fully absorb the shock of blockade launched in June 2017 by its neighbours - mainly Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. This measure resulted in a total ban on Qatar-registered airlines - essentially Qatar Airways - from serving or even flying over their respective countries.
Two years of hard work and resilience have finally enabled Hamad International Airport to Doha from return to growth in 2019. Admittedly, it was slightly weaker than expected - the authorities were still counting on 20% increase in passenger traffic at the beginning of last year - but it remains remarkable in many respects. According to airport authority figures, last year Hamad International Airport (HIA) welcomed 38.79 million passengersThis represents an increase of 12.44% compared with 2018. However, when compared to the last record of 37.28 million passengers in 2016, the increase is only just over 4%.
Hamad International Airport is the second largest international airport in the region, behind DubaiEven so, there is still a huge gap between the two in terms of passenger numbers. Dubai International should have ended 2019 with 85 million passengersThis represents an estimated decrease of 4% compared with 2018. Behind Doha in the region are the airports of Jeddah (34 million passengers), Riyadh (23 to 24 million passengers) and Abu Dhabi (21.5 million). Doha's performance is all the more remarkable given that most of the region's major airports saw their passenger traffic stagnate or fall last year.
Doha's success as a hub depends entirely on the airline's growth Qatar Airways. The Qatari national carrier's share of the hub's total traffic reached 90,7% in 2018 and this figure is unlikely to have changed much in 2019.
More than 90% of Doha's passenger traffic comes from Qatar Airways
All in all, 28 companies currently serve the hub, the latest arrivals at Hamad International being Air India and Tarco Aviation. According to the authorities, 15 airlines increased their frequencies or capacity last year, including Kuwait Airways, Philippine Airlines, Oman Air and Air India Express.
Qatar Airways has inaugurated eight new destinations: Davao (Philippines), Rabat, Izmir-Gaborone (Botswana), Langkawi (Malaysia), Mogadishu (Somalia), Malta and Lisbon. It has also increased its frequencies on BangkokKuwait, Kuala Lumpur, Manchester and Vienna, among others.
Qatar Airways has already announced the launch of flights to Osaka, Dubrovnik and Santorini in 2020. Other destinations should be added rapidly with the entry into force of theEurope/Qatar open skies agreement which will enable routes to be launched to a number of secondary destinations in the EU, notably with the new fleet of Airbus A321neo and A321LR (long-haul) aircraft, some of which are due to be delivered this year. Qatar Airways recently announced that it was expecting 40 additional devices of all types by 2020.
The airport is therefore preparing its new expansion phase while traffic should pass the 40 million this year. Phase A includes a new central hall which will link Piers D and E and increase the airport's total capacity to 53 million passengers by 2022. Once phase B is completed, Doha Hamad International should be able to handle 60 million passengers. The new structure will include tropical garden with waterfalls, 17,000 m² of additional retail space and a new 9,000 m² exhibition hall.
