The Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been going from strengths to strengths ever since its launch a few years ago.

Once the HIA’s second phase of expansion is complete, it will be equipped to handle more than 53 million passengers a year. The second phase is expected to be complete by 2022, before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The second phase of expansion will mark a critical development in the airport’s growth and Qatar’s transportation and communications sector, reported Gulf Times.

In addition to the immediate benefits of increased space and capacities, the construction of the Airport City will also provide ‘significant future investment opportunities’ including a free trade zone, office and business complex, and hotels. 

Last year, the HIA served a total of 34.5m passengers and handled 2,163,544 tonnes of cargo, up 8.4% from the previous year.

HIA’s 2018 fourth-quarter results showed the airport welcomed a total of 8.1m passengers, a 5.6% increment compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. 

HIA further handled 57,831 in aircraft movements, achieving an increase of 14.3%, as well as handling 570,337 tonnes of cargo, attaining a rise of 8.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, said another report in the Gulf Times.

The year 2018 saw the completion of the first significant phase of ‘Innovative Smart Airport Programme,’ which enables Qatar Airways to process more than 25% of its passengers using self-service check-in and bag-drop facilities. 

The airport has so far commissioned as many as 62 next-generation self-service check-in kiosks and 12 self-service bag drops including future biometric technology capability.

Meanwhile, the HIA was recognised as the world’s second best airport regarding On-Time Performance (OTP), according to OAG’s Punctuality League report.

@HIAQatar ranked as the 2nd best airport in the world for On-Time Performance (OTP) in OAG’s Punctuality League report in the major airports category with 85.41% of its flights operating on time. pic.twitter.com/1whBnZba25

— Hamad Int'l Airport (@HIAQatar) January 22, 2019

As per OAG, the leading global provider of digital flight information, Qatar’s state-of-the-art airport ranked second in the major airport's category (from 20 to 30m departing seats per annum) with 85.41% of its flights operating on time, according to The Peninsula.

The Punctuality League is based on 58m flight records using full-year data from 2017 to create a ranking of the best OTP for the world’s largest airlines and airports.

HIA newly joined the top 20 airports in the ‘Major Airports’ category within the Punctuality League this year, which is recognised as the world’s definitive measurement of on-time performance.

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