What to enjoy at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport

Efficiency, variety and a giant yellow teddy bear. That’s what you can expect to enjoy – and so much more – at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport (HIA).

After all, this airport is recognised as the world’s best.

Some of the 60 million passengers HIA presently welcomes annually saw fit to acknowledge the airport’s distinctive Arabic design, high-end shopping (that’s window shopping for most of us) and easy navigation as big traveller benefits.

The annual Skytrax ranking title for best airport keeps shifting between Qatar and Singapore.  And, of course, the national carrier, Qatar Airways, is also an award-winning airline.

You can read all about these accolades, along with Hamad International Airport’s services, new developments and other achievements on the HIA website.

Or you can scroll through this post for a sense of what to expect – and enjoy.

To be fair, my comparison yardstick is limited. It doesn’t extend much further than South Africa’s Dawid Stuurman Airport in Gqeberha or OR Tambo in Johannesburg, and occasionally Heathrow in the United Kingdom.

Regardless of my jet set shortcomings, Hamad, at just 10 years old, is a gem.

For me, HIA makes the hurry-up-and-wait scenario of airports a pleasure. In a sense, the holiday or business experience begins long before your flight departs.

And here’s 10 reasons why:

Art

The Qataris take their art seriously. A stroll around the 600 000 square metres of three-storey airport is akin to being in a gigantic art gallery with equally large pieces on display.

Your art meander starts outside the airport with a giant golden falcon, the country’s national bird, greeting you in the drop-off zone. Falcons are integral to the Qatari culture.

The art is curated in partnership with Qatar Museums.

The journey continues once you have checked in and are through customs and are welcomed by the iconic the giant yellow teddy – or Lamp Bear by Urs Fischer.

The brass bear is synonymous with Qatar and no departure or arrival is complete without the obligatory yellow teddy snap. There are special photo frames at the top of elevators looking down onto the duty-free area from which to capture your first holiday happy shots.

That which is on show at Hamad is a foretaste of the public art on offer in Doha, Qatar’s capital, and in the surrounding desert environment of this tiny Peninsula.

There are always new exhibits at HIA, as well as displays of top-of-the-range vehicles.

Design

The airport is aesthetically pleasing too. It takes its inspiration from the Arabian Gulf’s waves. It’s a soft undulating look. This is fair, since I have not yet experienced any real crash, bang and spray of the sea in the Gulf. Rather, it’s a gentle lapping of the water to the shore. 

Clean

This ultra-modern airport is CLEAN!

You may remember this from previous posts about Qatar’s cleanliness that the first photograph I took in my newfound home, back in February 2021, was of the toilets at Hamad International Airport. There are cleaners on duty in every set of toilets.

HIA and 90% of those industries that work directly with the public in Qatar, adhere to the exacting criteria of the Qatar Clean programme.

Food

There is no shortage of spots to eat and drink. This is mirrored by the great variety on offer too. We’re talking both price and food type.

As with all airport restaurants, fast food outlets and shops selling munchies, the prices are generally steeper than those experienced in that country. But you can get everything from a take-away coffee to a high-end meal from the country of your choice. As shared, it’s like starting the holiday before you have already left for your destination!

There are large eating areas where you can choose a seat and then spy out the country’s cuisine of your choice. Or you can pull out some biscuits from home.

Garden

In 2022, just before the hosting of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, The Orchard, the airport’s indoor tropical garden, was opened.

You’ll need to seek out the additional 10 000 square metres of garden in terminal C. It’s a welcome respite from the rest of the airport if you’re hurry-up-and-wait schedule allows for this. Apparently, the area now also offers passengers teepees in which to rest!

According to the HIA website, the Orchard is home to more than 300 trees and 25 000 plants sourced from around the globe.

Navigation

Talking of signage, HIA is a model in ease of access.

Navigating anything new can be frightening. But with the right processes and good visual and verbal communication in place, anxiety levels are tempered.

Everything is well signposted and easy to follow in English. Calls for flights come in the relevant language. 

And, if you even think about looking lost (have that glazed or anxious look about you), a kindly staff member is likely to step forward to inquire and point you in the right direction.

Checking in and going through customs is straightforward too.

If you are unfamiliar with self-check-in options or that of scanning your ticket or passport, ever-obliging staff members are always on hand to assist.

  

HIA has golf buggies that transports passengers to and fro, and there are moving platforms – also known as conveyor belts or travelators – for ease of movement. There’s an internal train too to reach one of the more distant terminals.

Moving about – even with so many people (a record 4.73 million passengers were served at HIA in July 2024) – is an interesting experience. Not least are all the different nationalities!

If you are anything like me, you’ll love the opportunity to people watch, and imagine their own stories.

Services

As you will have surmised, your welfare as a passenger gets priority.

Smoking rooms, ATMs and foreign exchange desks are available. By the way, there is no cost to re-exchanging your foreign money for local riyals if you exchanged it at HAMAD on departure.

There are also prayer rooms, hotel desks, special places for children and babies, medical providers and a lost property office.

There are hotels, a wellness and fitness centre and special lounges.

You’ll always be connected too with complimentary internet. There are internet desks and kiosks for working and recharging.

What convenience!

They even have special sleeping areas (sleep ‘n fly) and a sensory room, the Muzn Lounge, for anyone seeking a safe space to achieve calm, such as children on the autism spectrum.

Shopping

HAMAD has all the luxury fashion brands with displays that are a visual and decadent delight. The prices may be eye-wateringly high, but the viewing is free. There are 65 shops, covering 11 720 square metres, all told.

I did warn you, the holiday begins before you depart . . .

There are also shops devoted to jewellery, sports apparel, luggage, perfumes and high-end Qatari souvenirs.

Shopping is big business in Doha too.

Once we’ve feasted our senses on the luxury brands, we seek out the more budget-friendly shops for treats and forgotten items.

The duty free shops are interesting. They have all the usual high-end purchases, even alcohol for a country that does not allow the consumption of liquor in public. There are also large bags of milk powder on sale, something I have never seen at an airport before.

Animals

Your pets can expect similar creature comforts when travelling.

While Rufus may not share your seat, he will be checked in like your suitcases. But thereafter he’s off to the dedicated live animal facility to be prepared for the flight by trained animal handlers.

The 5260 square metres facility is the largest of its kind in the world with place, for starters, for 180 kennels in 11 rooms for dogs and cats.

According to the local newspaper, The Gulf Times, special facilities also exist for birds, live fish, reptiles, horses and other livestock.

Last year, Qatar Airways transported 10 000 horses around the world. And, of course, the same airline was responsible for the daring dairy rescue of 2016, as captured in the flying cow story of Qatar.

I like it that cats, dogs and all our other furry friends are priority business too.

Tourism

Another bonus is the city tours for passengers with long layovers. Since Doha is a compact and easily accessible city, you will be introduced to all the main sites.

The night tour is almost as enthralling as the day one, since the city puts on its party clothes after sunset, lighting up the downtown skyline.

For more information on transit travel options check out the Qatar Tourism site.