In some rare good news, passengers transiting through Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar have just had their chances of having to use a bus to get to their plane and board in the stifling summer heat of the region substantially decreased after the airport finished a massive expansion project ahead of schedule.
As the home of Qatar Airways, the airport is used to dealing with hundreds of thousands of passengers every week, but the airline’s rapid expansion has been faster than the airport’s.
In other words, many passengers had to endure the ordeal of lugging their hand luggage up mobile airstairs in 104°F + heat.
In fact, the airport had more bus gates (officially known as remote stands) than gates with air-conditioned jet bridges that led directly into the plane (or, as the airport prefers to call them, contact gates).
By some estimates, Doha Hamad still has 65 remote stands, and while the airport can’t guarantee the expansion will eliminate the need for these stands, it will at least make their use a lot less likely.
The airport first announced the mammoth expansion project in 2019 with plans to double capacity at the Persian Gulf airfield and ambitious plans to build a 6,000 square meter indoor tropical garden known as The Orchard.
Despite the devastating effects of the pandemic, the small but incredibly wealthy state of Qatar pushed ahead with the expansion project, and by 2022, the first phase, including The Orchard and a new premium lounge, was open in time for the country to host the FIFA World Cup.
Before the expansion, Doha Hamad could officially handle 30 million passengers per year, but with the completion of Concourses D and E and the addition of 17 new contact gates, the annual capacity has been increased to 65 million passengers.
The terminal now spans 842,000 square meters, a 14% increase, and the new contact gates in Concourse D and E have new self-service boarding gates and other technological improvements.
Until now, The Orchard and Premium Lounge have been relatively quiet but expect footfall to increase significantly with the opening of the new concourses.
“Hamad International Airport is more than a gateway; it is a vital pillar of Qatar’s growth and global connectivity,” commented the chief executive of Qatar Airways, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
Al-Meer once led Doha Hamad Airport until October 2023, when the former CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, made the surprise decision to step down. Once one of the most outspoken figures in the airline industry, Al Baker has kept a very low profile since his departure, while Al Meer has set about improving the airline’s employment practices.
The original plans for the expansion of Doha Hamad were scaled down from the grand plans once promised by Al Baker amidst allegations that Qatar had copied Singapore’s famous jewel water feature.
Indeed, Doha Hamad was even set to have its own 263 square meter indoor fountain, although that disappeared from the final design. At one point, Al Baker even suggested that Singapore Changi Airport had copied its design concept.
Unfortunately, despite the good news, Doha Hamad still has more remote stands than contact gates – 65 remote stands and 62 contacts. Still, with any luck, you should be able to board your next flight from Doha Hamad via a jetbridge.
