Hamad International Airport served a record 38,786,422 passengers in 2019, the highest figure since opening in 2014.

The number also reveals year-on-year growth of 12.4 per cent when compared to passenger numbers in 2018.

Eight new passenger destinations were added to the airport’s global network in 2019: Davao, Philippines; Rabat, Morocco; Izmir, Turkey; Gaborone, Botswana; Langkawi, Malaysia; Mogadishu, Somalia; Malta and Lisbon, Portugal.

Three new cargo destinations were also added to the network, namely Istanbul, New York and Almaty.

Fifteen airlines operating at Hamad International Airport increased their weekly flight frequencies including Kuwait Airways, Salam Air, Philippine Airlines, Oman Air and Air India Express.

Hamad International Airport also welcomed two new airline partners, namely, Air India and Tarco Aviation.

Badr Mohammed Al Meer, chief operating officer at Hamad International Airport, stated: “2019 has been a spectacular year for HIA, having broken our record for the most number of passengers ever served since commencing our operations.

“It was also an exciting year for the airport as the gateway to some of the world’s biggest sporting events including the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 and the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 which were successfully hosted by Qatar.

“Looking ahead, we’re focused on increasing our operational capacity through our major airport expansion project which is a vital part of the airports rapid growth and the country’s preparations to host the 2022 World Cup and beyond.”

Hamad International Airport announced its multi-phased airport expansion plan in 2019.

Phase A of the expansion is set to comprise of a central concourse linking concourses D and E and will increase the airport’s capacity to more than 53 million passengers annually by 2022.

Phase B, which will be completed after 2022, will extend concourses D and E to further enhance the airport’s capacity to more than 60 million passengers annually.