Doha: Air Transport Department of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), in a report, predicted that the number of passengers, including arrivals, departures and transits, at Qatar’s airports during the months of November-December 2022 will be over 7 million.
Meanwhile, according to the report, the number of passenger flights at both Hamad International Airport (HIA) and Doha International Airport are expected to reach about 28,000 scheduled and chartered flights during the FIFA World Cup from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
The report shows that the expected number of passengers during the months of November and December 2022 will exceed the numbers recorded during the same period in 2019, that is before the COVID-19 pandemic, by an average of about 11%.
The forecast report has been prepared with both a conservative view and aggressive view. It predicts that "the total number in November 2022 will be about 3.5 million passengers on the conservative path and 4.1 million on the aggressive path, while it is expected that the number in December 2022 will reach 3.6 million passengers on the conservative path and more than 4.7 million on the aggressive path."
The report added that passenger traffic forecasts show the possibility of recording a significant growth ranging from +90% to +105% compared to the year 2021, bringing the total number of passengers in the year to approximately 34 million, assuming that the travel recovery continues, and more countries remove health-related travel restrictions.
The report takes into consideration the easing of restrictions imposed on air travel, and the removal of all health-related travel restrictions in about 25% of the countries (most of them in Europe). It also added that the passenger forecast is based on various industry indicators including the anticipated gradual recovery of international air transport from the pandemic and the continuous easing of travel restrictions.
It also assumes that there will be an expected increase in volume of charter and shuttle flights during the FIFA 2022 World Cup between Hamad International Airport and Doha International Airports and other GCC airports.