For several years now, a major expansion project has been underway at Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH). While the biggest phase of that project opened in late 2022, the final stage has just been completed, meaning the airport is now at full capacity. Let’s cover all the details.
Doha Hamad Airport can now handle 65 million passengers
Doha’s Hamad International Airport opened in 2014. The airport had an initial capacity of 29 million passengers per year, though given Qatar Airways’ ambitious growth, we knew the plan all along was to boost capacity significantly.
In November 2022, we saw the first phase of the expansion complete, whereby the airport’s capacity doubled, to 58 million passengers per year. Not only did capacity increase, but we saw all kinds of cool new features introduced, including a massive indoor tropical garden known as the Orchard, a new Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge, and much more.
Now for the past two years plus, the airport has been working on the final part of its expansion project, which increases capacity to 65 million passengers per year. This project is now complete, with the new gates in use. Specifically, this includes the opening of Concourse D and Concourse E. These new concourses integrate seamlessly into the existing terminal.
The two concourses add 17 new gates to the airport, increasing the total number of gates from 45 to 62. This is an exciting development, given that many Qatar Airways flights have used remote stands, so this should help with that issue.
At this point, the airport’s terminal spans an astonishing 842,000 square meters (a little over nine million square feet).
Doha Hamad Airport is an incredible facility
Personally, I rank Doha Hamad Airport as one of the three best airports in the world. There’s so much to love about this airport, and the latest expansion really solves some of the lingering issues that existed, especially with the heavy use of bus gates.
Doha Hamad Airport has a gorgeous design, I love the indoor garden, the lounge situation is tough to beat, and the retail and food & beverage options are on a different level than most other airports. It’s without a doubt the best major hub in the Middle East.
Now, let me of course emphasize that not everyone is going to have the same experience. If you travel through the airport on a short connection during one of the heavily banked periods, it’s probably going to be pretty chaotic. However, that’s the case at virtually any major period with a banked hub, so that hardly makes Hamad unique.
Bottom line
Doha’s Hamad Airport has completed its significant expansion. The airport doubled capacity in late 2022, and now we’ve seen the capacity increased by over seven million additional passengers per year, bringing the capacity to 65 million passengers.
With the opening of Concourse D and Concourse E, there are now 17 additional gates, which should make the experience at the airport a bit more seamless. When you add in the airport’s excellent lounging and retail, plus the indoor garden, it’s a pleasant facility to transit.
What do you make of the Doha Hamad Airport expansion?
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