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What does the public think of HIA recently being proclaimed as the world’s best airport?
Taking into account that Qatar will host an enormous number of visitors during the upcoming FIFA World Cup, airports must be in perfect condition to be up to the task.
Doha News survey tells that the majority of Qatar’s public agree on one issue – HIA needs various adjustments in order to be completely prepared to welcome hundreds of thousands of people.
Skytrax 2022 World Airport Awards has awarded Hamad International Airport this month the World’s Best Airport for the second year in a row.
HIA currently serves over 39 million passengers per year. It provides a luxurious experience for visitors landing at its 600,000m2 big terminal. The facility spans an amazing 22 km2 with 41 contact gates and 65 remote stands (73 including MAGS). It makes it 12 times larger than the old airport.
Pros and cons
Despite its admirable features, locals in Qatar have identified areas worth of improvement.
About 83% of survey participants believe that HIA deserves its title. On the other hand, many still think the facility is not fully ready to welcome an expected inrush of visitors in less than five months’ time left.
The voter’s biggest concerns are based on the lack of staff. Limited check-in counters and long passport control lines are the result. 53% of voters said for Doha News that lines for flights are too long, especially in peak holiday seasons.
Many noticed that lounges are crowded most of the time, leaving little to no space for visitors to relax while waiting for their flights. It contradicts promised “luxurious” experience.
One resident stated, “The lounges are always packed. They’re too small for the airport capacity and even the food options are very limited and pricey”.
Qatar’s tourism sector continues to grow and makes it a challenge for airports to welcome people properly. Lots of people find themselves stuck in long lines of traffic due to small drop-off and pick-up road sections at the doors of the facility.
In order to tackle the issue, authorities limited curb-side departure and arrival drop-offs only to authorized vehicles. The rest of the traffic is diverted to parking spaces. 74% of voters said that this would lead to more traffic and result in a longer time needed to reach the gate.
High fan interest
Qatar has already seen a spike in the number of visitors over the past year, although there are almost 5 months left until the tournament.
According to new data by a global travel data provider, Doha had one of the largest volumes of scheduled airline seats in the region during April.
The Gulf state ranks sixth in the Airports Council International (ACI) 2021 report. It is among the top ten airports with the highest international patronage (17,701,978), only behind Dubai, Istambul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris airports.
More than one million fans expected to come from all over the world to enjoy the FIFA World Cup 2022 post serious question on how will this be managed by authorities.
