Hamad International Airport Handles Record Number of Aircraft Movements and Cargo in March 2017
Doha, May 07 (QNA) – Hamad International Airport (HIA) handled a record 21,842 aircraft take-offs and landings and 177,325 tonnes of cargo in the month of March, making it the busiest month for aircraft movement and cargo handling yet.
According to a press release of HIA published on Sunday, the first quarter of 2017 saw 62,913 aircraft movements at HIA, representing an 8 per cent increase in aircraft take-offs and landings at the airport from January to March 2017, compared to 58,288 movements during the same period last year. 21,635 movements were recorded in January 2017, 19,436 movements in February 2017 and 21,842 in March 2017.
HIA also handled a total of 469,725 tonnes of cargo in the first quarter of 2017, 20 per cent more than the 389,950 tonnes of cargo handled in the first quarter of 2016. 152,200 tonnes of cargo was handled in January 2017, 140,200 tonnes in February 2017 and 177,325 tonnes in March 2017.
HIA served a total of 9,782,202 passengers from January to March 2017, representing a 10per cent increase in passenger numbers compared to the 8,868,066 passengers served during the same time period in 2016. January 2017 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 7.5 million units of baggage.
Commenting on the airport’s figures, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, 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.” (QNA)