Hamad International Airport (HIA) has significantly reduced queuing times at key touchpoints, with average wait times as low as one minute and 20 seconds at transfer security and two minutes and 24 seconds at arrival immigration during certain peak periods in fiscal 2020.
Qatar Airways Annual Report 2020 indicates 99.4% of passengers transferring through HIA queued for less than five minutes at transfer security screening, making it an industry-leading success story that was maintained throughout 2019.
This was accomplished by training highly professional staff and installing 49 screening lanes operated simultaneously during peak times. In 2019, almost 100% of transfer passengers with Minimum Connecting Time (MCT) of 45 minutes or less were connected to their onward flights without delay.
This was achieved by conducting their security screening at select contact gates equipped with X-ray machines and walk-through metal detectors, negating the need to have passengers go through security screening at the transfers’ hall.
HIA began 2020 by serving 1mn passengers in the first week of January 2020. This record marked an average of 138,649 passengers per every 24-hour period. Following a successful 2019 and first quarter of 2020, the airport experienced a surge in cargo owing to Qatar Airways’ and HIA’s continued efforts to provide freighter services in response to the increased demand for essential goods and medical supplies, both locally and internationally, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Applying measures to combat the pandemic, HIA took all the necessary steps to ensure a safe environment for passengers and staff at the airport.
The airport, in cooperation with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), MATAR Management and Qatar Airways, conducted entry screening of all arriving passengers and crew coming into Doha on a 24×7 basis. All terminating passengers with a right to enter the country were quarantined for 14 days according to World Health Organisation’s (WHO) and MoPH guidelines.
From April 2019 to March this year, HIA served a total of 37,953,257 arriving, departing and transferring passengers, an 8.63% increase compared to the previous fiscal year.
HIA also recorded 2,197,226 tonnes of cargo operations, 1.97% more than the previous year. It also recorded 228,896 aircraft movements, including take-offs and landings, which marked an increase of 1.75% from the previous year.
MATAR, the Qatar Company for Airports Management and Operation, is a corporate subsidiary of Qatar Airways Group in a contractual agreement with the Government of Qatar to manage the operations of Hamad International Airport (HIA).
MATAR is also responsible for Hamad International Airport’s expansion project, its readiness for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, its asset management, commercial activities, airline business development, environment sustainability and international projects. It is also responsible for the maintenance of Doha International Airport.

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