Amazing Facts About Hamad International Airport

Amazing Facts About Hamad International Airport

Comfort. Convenience. Choice. These are the things that matter most to today’s traveller, and you will find them all at Hamad International Airport.

Designed for passengers both regional and international, it offers facilities that are efficient, modern and user-friendly. Wide check-in aisles, abundant service desks and speedy security clearance make your pre-flight experience quick and easy.

Step inside to a new standard in airport comfort, convenience, and choice.

Did you know that know that there are many things to be discovered and experience in Hamad International Airport?

Here are some amazing facts about its world-class architecture and facilities:

Location, Size, and Capacity

• Hamad International Airport is located within an eight-hour flight for more than two thirds of the global population

• HIA is about a third of the size of Doha.

• Upon completion of the airport capacity expansion plans, HIA will handle 50 million passengers, 2.5 million tonnes of cargo, and 360,000 aircraft landings and take-offs each year. In short, it will be three times the size of the existingairport in Doha and six times the capacity.

• At peak times, as many as 8,700 passengers can pass through the Passenger Terminal Complex in a single hour.

• HIA met its record of 37.3 million passengers in 2016.

• With 600,000 square meters and 4 stories high Passenger Terminal Complex (PTC) equalling 75 FIFA-size soccer fields or in Qatari 3 Qatar National Convention Centres (QNCCs). As such, it will be the largest building in Doha.

• HIA has a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per annum, set to increase to 2.8 million upon completion of second terminal.

• HIA has two parallel runways, among the longest in the world, designed to cater to next-generation aircraft including the Airbus A380.

A Unique Water Theme Design

• A workforce of 23,000 invested over 160 million hours to design and build an undulating structure resembling the gentle waves of the Arabian Gulf taking passengers gracefully from landside to airside, using building materials sourced from 40 different countries around the world.

• The passenger terminal roof is shaped like a wave. Water is also featured along the way for arriving passengers.

• The Emiri terminal is externally shaped like sail boats, and mosque like the water drop.

• HIA’s iconic mosque, located in front of the PTC with spectacular views of the lagoon and Emiri Terminal, resembles a drop of water. With a diameter of 50 metres, the dome was constructed from 1600 individual pieces of glass, while the 36-metre-high minaret is clad in over 200,000 mosaic tiles with LED lights for evening illumination.

• The control tower will be over 85 meters high. The control tower is shaped like a crescent providing a key night feature shining on the HIA facilities.

The Environment at Heart

• HIA is a highly environmental friendly airport.

• All waste water from HIA is recycled. The treated water is used to irrigate the landscaping around the airport.

• During HIA’s construction, over 6.2 million cubic meters of soil was excavated, desalinated and re-used as fill material.

• 8 million cubic meters of improperly disposed household waste has been removed from the site and disposed of properly in an engineered landfill

• HIA started to tackle climate change and the airport’s carbon emissions from its first day of opening in 2014.

• HIA is the first airport in the GCC and second in the Middle East and Northern Africa Region, achieving Leve 3 ‘Optimization’ in the Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation progamme

• HIA is designed and built to conserve energy needed for cooling. The walls of the passenger terminal are coated with solar reflective material and the roof is insulated, and designed with overhang shading. Also, carbon dioxide sensors regulate air intake based on occupancy to minimize the energy usage on ventilation system.

HIA Facilities for All

• 7483 car parks

• 24,000 public seats

• 85 public toilets

• 23 parent’s rooms

• Complimentary unlimited Wifi

• 2 unaccompanied minor lounge

• 13 quiet rooms for family, male and female

• 16 Prayer rooms

Construction Facts

• Crushed rock – 87,600 tonnes

• Concrete – 2.3 million cubic metres

• Piles – 8,900

• Airfield asphalt – 2 million cubic metres

• Steel – 140,000 tonnes

• Electrical cabling – 17 million meters

• Fibre optic cabling – 330,000 metres

• Fuel pipes – 37,000 metres

• Curtain wall (south, west and east façade) – 109,800 square metres

• Exterior wall has 35,000 pcs of glass

• Interior wall 36,000 pcs of glass

• Inward-angled curtain wall façade from roof to ground helps reduce solar exposure; reduces the need for internal cooling)

• North Node curtain wall – 51,000 square metres

• Canopy cladding – 36,000 square metres

Landscaping at HIA

• 2.44 square kilometres of landscaping

• 2,621 date palms

• 436 large matured boxed trees

• 7,854 deciduous trees

• 1.11 square kilometres of groundcovers and shrubs

• 0.13 square kilometres of lawns

• 0.03 square kilometres of hard landscaping

• 12,620 meters of decorative limestone walls

• 3,560 kilometres of irrigation pipes

• 111,730 cubic meters of organic mulch

• 901,920 cubic meters of soil mixture

• 8,000 meters of landscape maintenance access paths

• 17,000 cubic meters of TSE used as irrigation water

• 1,628 street lighting poles

Recent Awards and Recognitions

 • Hamad International Airport retains ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’  and ’Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ Titles in 2020

 • HIA has been ranked the “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020. Rising from fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the ‘World's Best Airports’ rankings since the start of its operations in 2014.

• Travel + Leisure travel magazine has published the 2020 World’s Best Awards results where Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been voted second best airport in the world. The Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards evaluate international airports based on a global survey of their readers who vote for their favorite airport. 

Other HIA Facts

How many boarding gates does HIA have?

Hamad International Airport currently operates 41 contact gates and 65 remote stands (73 remote stands including MAGS).

Who were the designers and architects for the HIA master plan?

HOK were the main architects for Hamad International Airport. In addition to designing HIA, HOK also worked on master planning, facility programming, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, engineering, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection.

Efficiency and ease for a world-class journey

The airport has been designed with customer experience to the fore. The result is a world-class facility, where the concept of hospitality underpins everything.

It is evident in the 138 extra wide check-in counters, the high-speed security clearance, the abundance of service desks, the trolleys for hand baggage, the baby strollers - the list is endless.

Stunning architecture and surroundings

Customers stepping inside Hamad International Airport experience luxury and space, sophistication and elegance. High ceilings and expansive concourses give a sense of grandeur, while designer touches and beautiful art installations create an environment far beyond convention.

Superb choice for shopping and dining

Alongside extensive and varied dining options, is one of the world’s largest duty free shopping areas, where elegant boutiques and stunning stores combine to create a truly unforgettable retail experience.

Customers can also refresh, relax and recharge before their onward flight. Hamad International Airport provides a 100-room hotel at the Oryx Airport Hotel. 

Unique opportunities to work, rest, play

Innovation and attention to detail characterise the unique entertainment ‘nodes’ throughout the airport. These offer high-quality and enjoyable places to all customers. For example, stylish computers are recessed into sleek workstations, and striking sculptures offer children memorable areas to explore.

Across the airport there are also quiet rooms, where customers can rest on comfortable recliners in peaceful surroundings between flights.

Family facilities and services at HIA

• Baby strollers

• Indoor activity nodes fully equipped with televisions, computers and play areas

• Parents' rooms for infant care

• Family toilets

• Priority boarding for special assistance travellers and unaccompanied minors

Simply follow the dedicated signs or ask for directions at an information desk. Alternatively, you can locate relevant facilities using the HIA Qatar mobile app prior to your travel.