Hamad International Airport (HIA) has announced that it will participate in the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards ceremony in Paris, France, on April 2, 2020, where HIA is a candidate for the ‘World’s Best Airport 2020’. 
The Skytrax World Airport Awards is the most respected accolade for the airport industry, voted by passengers in the largest annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. The awards ceremony will take place at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2020, the world’s leading international airport conference and exhibition.
HIA has risen from the fifth position in 2018 to its current position as the fourth best airport in the world. This accomplishment has been instrumental in recognising HIA as the gateway to Qatar and the world, putting Qatar on the map as a destination of choice for passengers, according to a press statement.
Hamad International Airport’s success at the Skytrax World Airport Awards is also important in setting it apart from other airports and in giving a lasting impression of Qatar’s modern, smart and quality standard of living while celebrating the country’s heritage and culture, the statement notes.
Badr Mohamed al-Meer, chief operating officer at HIA, said: “It is our goal to redefine the airport experience by empowering passengers and taking the stress out of travel while keeping their passion for exploration alive. We strive to enrich global travellers’ experience by offering them a multi-dimensional lifestyle experience featuring a world-class art collection, endless shopping and dining, entertainment and relaxation facilities — all housed in one expansive terminal. 
“Skytrax is a platform that allows our passengers to share their view on their experiences with us as we move closer to the top three rankings for the ‘World’s Best Airport’ at The Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020.”
Hamad International Airport is increasingly being recognised for its “five-star passenger experience and operational excellence”. “With passengers at the heart of the airport strategy, HIA unlocks the power of technology to deliver the airport of the future. By employing cutting-edge smart technologies, automation and self-service, HIA provides a hassle-free experience for passengers fuelled with choice and flexibility,” the statement points out.
The successful completion of the first major phase of HIA’s Smart Airport programme has seen up to 40% of the home carrier Qatar Airways’ passengers preferring to self-check-in, and a further 20% opting for self-bag drop. The trial for the second phase of the Smart Airport Programme, which was completed in August, aims to combine passengers’ flight, passport, and facial biometric information in a single electronic record at
the self-check-in kiosk or mobile app. 
This phase further sets to empower passengers and provide them with a swift and seamless experience using facial verification at various touchpoints including self-service bag-drop, automated security gate, and the automated boarding gate.
HIA is also undertaking its expansion plans to meet the growing demand for air travel and enhance its position as the preferred gateway for travel. The expansion will increase HIA’s capacity to more than 53mn passengers and 3mn tonnes of cargo annually by 2022.
The Skytrax World Airport Awards are based on customer nominations across 100 nationalities of air travellers and include 550 airports worldwide. The survey evaluates customer satisfaction across 39 key performance indicators for airport service and product — from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure at the gate.
Passengers can vote for HIA by visiting the official Skytrax Awards website at http://www.worldairportsurvey.com/Surveys/favorite_airport.html