The Qatari capital has had difficulty in keeping pace with the enormous growth in air traffic but a new terminal and another airport should solve that. Colin Ellson reports Doha International Airport has attracted its fair share of passenger criticism in recent years. Overcrowded and chaotic, with limited seating and eating options, were among the milder brickbats cast in the direction of Qatar Airways’ home base, which it also manages and operates. Not a good image for the gateway to one of the richest nations on earth, up to its oxters in oil, with sufficient gas to help fuel the economy for 200 years, expanding its business base, and planning to double tourism arrivals by 2030. Nor for the airline, one of the fastest growing in the world, accounting for 90% of flights at the airport, with an expansion programme which will triple its fleet to 110 aircraft by 2016. And certainly a perception that displeases Akbar Al Baker, the highly motivated CEO of Qatar Airways and chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority. Now, under his spirited leadership, the times they are a’changing at Doha International. Some US$200 million is being spent on upgrades, the terminal gaining 21,000 square metres, allowing the arrivals and departures halls to spread their wings. The number of boarding gates has been increased from 10 to 16, there are two more immigration counters, new e-gates to speed up passenger processing, and a sharp increase in the number of aircraft parking bays. Al Baker concedes inconvenience has been caused to passengers, and there have been capacity constraints. “So we have been working round the clock to complete the terminal extension,” he says. “The expansion currently underway will significantly improve facilities and services.” Both the lack of capacity and the determination to solve the problem were illustrated by the airport’s preparations for the 15th Asian Games, held in Doha in December. A temporary, prefabricated terminal was erected in a matter of weeks to cope with 10,000 athletes, its opening coinciding with the unveiling of a world first – a terminal dedicated to First and Business Class passengers. Used solely by Qatar Airways, the unique building covers 10,000 square metres and is packed with innovations. Centred around an atrium and water feature, these include e gates with biometric identification technology; First and Business Class lounges featuring wi-fi and dedicated chefs; a spa, Jacuzzi and sauna; conference and meeting rooms; a business centre and free internet access. While the new premium complex and improvements to the original terminal will boost capacity from the current 4.5 million or so, the airport will nevertheless have difficulty keeping pace with demand. The predicted increase in business and leisure visitors, Qatar Airways’ grandiose plans to grow its route network from the present 70 destination, and the inevitable increase in the number of other carriers flying into Doha – currently around 25 – will add immense pressure to an infrastructure receiving short-term care rather than a cure. That will come with the New Doha International Airport, under construction four kilometres east of the existing gateway. Costing US$5.5 billion, it will be the first facility in the world specifically designed and built to handle the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, slated to enter service this year, inshallah. Work began on the 2,200-hectare site, half of it reclaimed from the Arabian Gulf, in early 2005, with the first phase due to open in 2009, when the airport will have a three-storey terminal able to handle 12 million passengers a year. A further two phases will complete an extension to the terminal, and add a People Mover monorail, an airport hotel adjacent to the terminal and another within it. Fully operational by 2015, the new airport will have a capacity of 50 million. Rest assured that if the continuing upgrades in access to Qatar don’t occur bang on the button, airline and tourism supremo Akbar Al Baker will want to know why.
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