The General Authority of Civil Aviation in Qatar said it expects Hamad International Airport, the headquarters of the national carrier, Qatar Airways, to receive between 34 million and 36 million passengers this year, almost double the number of last year.
This expectation assumes that the recovery in travel comes in the face of easing restrictions on travel imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, reports a local Arabic daily quoting Reuters.
The authority added that between 3.5 million and 4.1 million passengers will arrive, depart and transit from Qatar in November, and between 3.6 million and 4.7 million in December.
This period coincides with the FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar. During that period, from mid-November to mid-December, airlines in the Middle East are expected to operate dozens of flights to and from Doha on match days, and Qatar will use its old airport, Doha International Airport, in addition to the new airport, the Hamad International Airport.
Hamad International Airport, which receives only international flights, handled 17.7 million passengers in 2021 and 38.8 million passengers in 2019, the year before the pandemic.