Hamad International Airport (HIA) handled a record 21,842 aircraft take-offs and landings and 177,325 tonnes of cargo in March, making it the “busiest month” for aircraft movement and cargo handling yet.
The first quarter saw 62,913 aircraft movements at HIA, representing an 8% increase in aircraft take-offs and landings at the airport from January to March, compared to 58,288 movements during the same period last year. 21,635 movements were recorded in January, 19,436 movements in February and 21,842 in March this year.
HIA also handled a total of 469,725 tonnes of cargo in the first quarter of this year, 20%, more than the 389,950 tonnes of cargo handled in the first quarter of 2016. Some 152,200 tonnes of cargo was handled in January, 140,200 tonnes in February and 177,325 tonnes in March this year, HIA said.
HIA served a total of 9,782,202 passengers from January to March 2017, representing a 10% increase in passenger numbers compared to the 8,868,066 passengers served during the same time period in 2016.
January saw 3,534,528 passengers arriving, departing and transferring through HIA, 3,030,436 passengers in February and 3,217,238 passengers in March. The airport also handled 7.5mn units of baggage.
On the airport’s figures, Hamad International Airport chief operating officer Badr Mohamed al-Meer said, “HIA has seen a phenomenal increase in cargo handling at our state-of-the-art cargo terminal. We have also seen a significant increase in aircraft movements due to the increased frequency of several of our patron airlines’ weekly flights from HIA as well as new airlines joining our network.”
