January 03, (THEWILL) – Qatar’s Doha International Airport (DIA), which served as an overflow airport for the FIFA World Cup, has now been closed and the 13 airlines that were using it have returned to Doha’s main airport.
The decommissioned DIA was reopened for the tournament, with 83 check-in desks, 52 departure immigration counters and 22 departure gates. It had the capacity to handle 2,000 departing and arriving passengers per hour at its peak.
The DIA was closed for regular passenger service in 2014 when the Hamad International Airport opened after a multi-year project to build on land reclaimed from the sea. The DIA is located on the opposite side of a major road from Hamad International, and its runway remained operational as the Qatari Air Force was using it.
During the tournament, there were 26,425 aircraft movements between DIA and Hamad International Airport. Flydubai operated 1,290 flights and 130,000 passengers used the airline’s special shuttle service between Dubai and Doha.
The remaining airlines which have returned to Hamad International include Pegasus Airlines, SalamAir, Himalayan Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Jazeera Airways, Nepal Airlines, Tarco Aviation, Badr Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Air Cairo.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
