Qatar’s history as a seafaring nation reliant on pearl trading is reflected by water-inspired designs at the New Doha International Airport, writes Sarah Campbell.

In the Middle East, water is a valuable commodity, so it should come as little surprise to learn that many of the new landmark structures being created there have an aquatic theme – and Doha’s planned new $11 billion gateway to the world is no exception.

Indeed, with the name ‘Doha’ literally translating from Arabic as ‘bay’, the water themed design of New Doha International Airport (NDIA) is fitting and perfectly compliments the city’s location on the east coast of the Qatar Peninsula.

Water is reflected in the undulating wave shape of the passenger terminal roof, the elegant sail ship structure for the Emiri terminal and an intricate droplet-like form for the public mosque at the gateway, which will replace the current Doha International Airport in early 2010.

It is desperately needed as the existing airport exceeded its 12mppa design capacity back in 2007, when it accommodated 14 million passengers, and is simply no longer equipped to meet future demand.

When it opens its first phase in 2010, NDIA will be a welcome addition to Qatar’s infrastructure with its capacity to handle 24mppa. NDIA will have a land area in excess of 22 square kilometres – about a quarter of the size of the old city of Doha.

At its final development in 2015, the new airport will handle 50mppa, two million tonnes of cargo and 320,000 aircraft landings and takeoffs each year. In short, it will be three times the size of the existing airport, with six times the capacity.

Built to resemble a rolling wave, the NDIA terminal will handle 24 million passengers (30 times the current population of Doha) with up to 8,700 passengers able to pass through the terminal per hour.

Reflecting the terminal’s ocean-side setting, its roof will be a wave-like structure and below this, the terminal façade will be transparent.

The 350,000 square meter passenger terminal facility will become the largest building in Doha, covering an area equivalent to 50 full size football pitches.

Inside the terminal will be light and spacious.

The multi-level building will include arched columns, skylights and highlighted finishes.

Retail space will occupy a central area offering duty free, food and beverage, shops, amenities and airline lounges.

The terminal will also have a 100-room transit hotel and a public mosque, covering 2,129 square metres.

A total of 1,091 check-in desks will occupy an area big enough to squeeze in ten wide-body aircraft, with the terminal housing 28 outbound migration desks; 50 inbound immigration desks; 12 baggage claim carousels; 40 security screening stations; 40 contact gates and 15 remote gates.

Separate from the main passenger complex, the Emiri terminal will provide elegant, safe and secure facilities for Qatar’s royal family, high government officials and visiting dignitaries.

Made up of layers of longitudinally curved walls with triangular sections, the exterior walls are reminiscent of high nautical sails.

Facilities will include private quarters for the Emir; press and business centres and significant security features. The main entrance will overlook a lagoon with distinguished water features.

A grand, ceremonial podium where military style parades can be held will be built airside from the Emiri terminal.

The ceremonial facilities will include a reception hall and a large Majlis containing 100 seats.

Alongside the podium will be parking facilities for two aircraft with jet-side bridges.

Covering 9,000 square metres, the two-storey Emiri Terminal will have parking positions for up to seven aircraft; two via contact gates connected to the podium and one ceremonial open air gate.

Meanwhile, the 80 meter high tower, designed to be shaped as a crescent, will be visible from most areas of the airport and wider Doha city, providing unobstructed views of all aircraft movements and managing up to 100 movements per hour.

With Qatar experiencing summer temperatures in excess of 50°C a lot of energy is spent keeping buildings and water cool.

To conserve energy, the passenger terminal curtain walls are coated to reduce solar exposure.

The roof overhang provides shade and the roof is insulated.

CO2 sensors will be installed around the terminal buildings to monitor building occupancy volumes.

Linked to the HVAC system, these sensors will regulate intake air supply on an occupancy-demand basis, thereby reducing excess conditioning of unoccupied spaces.

The airport’s chilled water supply and its return distribution system will be heavily insulated and, where possible, will be buried underground in utility corridors and tunnels, to further reduce heat transfer.

As a further energy saving feature, lighting in the terminal will be zoned and monitored with daylight sensors.

Smaller interior back-of-house spaces will have occupancy sensors to monitor lighting.

Surrounding landscaping will be irrigated with effluent from the on-site wastewater treatment plant.

Demand for water will be further reduced by the use of desert-adapted plant species.

When it opens in 2010, NDIA will be a flagship development not only for Doha but for aviation in the Middle East.

Its innovative designs, focus on sustainability, and new-age technology could lead Qatar into a new era of economic development, as a leading aviation hub.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 2

What makes Hainan Meilan International Airport special? Keith Strandberg investigates.

Asia-Pacific gateways are fast gaining a reputation for customer service innovation and expertise, and China’s Hainan Meilan International Airport is no exception. For the Hainan Island located airport has taken the high-end travel experience to a whole new level by opening 18 VIP rooms to cater for growing demand from passengers who want that little bit extra at an airport.

Each one is different, boasting its own unique identity, design and décor that aims to reflect Chinese culture, traditions and style.

“We want passengers to know that they are in Hainan and China and believe that we have created something a little different and special,” enthuses chairman of the board, Cong Zhang.

A total of 14 VIP rooms are located in the airport’s Domestic VIP Lounge and another four in its International VIP Lounge.

Zhang claims that another feature that sets his airport’s VIP lounges apart from the rest is the quality of food and beverage served in them. “Food is a priority. There are always at least four different kinds of fruits available and to satisfy different people’s tastes, we provide nine kinds of beverage.



“A selection of cold dishes and snacks are also available from a more traditional buffet area. The VIP lounges are beautiful, relaxing places and the decor and style is really different from room to room.”

The airport is located near Haikou, an old seaside city that has long been popular with visitors from mainland China.

Made capital city of the newly created Hainan Province in 1988, it is the island’s political, economic, scientific and cultural capital and major transportation centre due to the airport and still busy seaport.

The 2002 merger of Haikou city with neighbouring Qiongshan only served to increase the importance of the metropolis to Hainan Province, which also enjoys the status of being a Special Economic Zone.

With so many attractions then, it is little wonder that passenger traffic at the gateway continues to boom, rising from 4.3mppa in 2000 to a record 7.2mppa last year.

And with business travel to Hainan Island at an all-time high, the airport authority decided that the time was right for the construction of the VIP rooms as they would enhance customer service and add to the bottom line.

Explains Zhang: “We believe that they have improved customer service levels at the airport and subsequently the image of Hainan Meilan and the airport authority. They are almost a national brand in their own right and have become known for the professional way they are managed and the personal service provided, which is based on the highest international standards.

“We are also hoping that the VIP rooms will increase our earning potential in respect of revenue gained from non-aeronautical activity. We need to make maximum use of the space available in the terminal to improve the airport experience for our customers and, where possible, generate new revenues. The results so far have been encouraging.”

The airport views potential VIP lounge customers as being anyone from politicians, bankers and high-powered businessmen to conference delegates and all first class passengers on international flights.

And if you are not invited to rooms you can pay for the privilege – access being gained either by purchasing a VIP card or through renting facilities.

Rental charges vary depending on the room requested, but the airport has set fees for the VIP cards, which are expected to account for the vast majority of guests. They range from around 7,000 Yuan ($1,000) for a Personal Silver VIP Card to 200,000 Yuan ($28,000) for a Company Gold Card.

For these fees, customers get a selection of services that include free car parking, concierge services, aviation insurance and special inspection access for domestic flights.

All that is required is one day’s advance reservation, which has to include the VIP’s name, flight number, take-off time, vehicle registration number (if appropriate) and meal requirement.



Upon arrival, guests will be guided to a specific VIP lounge. Then, airport staff will complete the check-in procedures and departure formalities. When the flight boards, airport staff will assist the VIP onto the airplane.

Zhang says that the airport aims to build up a special relationship with each and every one of its VIP room guests, remembering their personal likes and dislikes so that the service can be fine-tuned or bettered on the next occasion they pass through Hainan Meilan.

“Our goal is ‘no complaints’ for the VIP Service for an entire year. It is a difficult but realistic target,” he states. “We want our VIP service staff to be the best and will constantly review and update training to improve customer service levels and introduce new concepts and ideas.”

To Hainan Meilan, the VIP rooms are its chance to showcase the airport and its customer service abilities to the world. It was never going to disappoint.



Asia-Pacific Airports 2008 Issue 3

Asia-Pacific Airports magazine discovers more about the design concepts behind Indira Gandhi International Airport’s planned new Terminal 3.

Located south of today’s passenger facilities, the new Terminal 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will finally equip the gateway with a state-of-the-art complex befitting the Indian capital.

The complex, which will serve as the airport’s new showpiece international terminal, is scheduled to open a few months before Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

It is the key project of the airport’s $1.2 billion redevelopment programme and, perhaps not surprisingly, the company responsible for the terminal’s design, HOK Architects, is promising the delivery of a world-class facility.

HOK senior associate, Nicola Morton, enthuses: “The design for the new terminal is both modern and striking. It will help secure Delhi’s position on the world stage, reflect the country’s dynamic aspirations and strengthen the city’s position as a major cultural and commercial hub.”

In practical terms, the 450,000sqm terminal will more than double the gateway’s capacity from today’s 15mppa to 37mppa, and with future expansion and the addition of other new facilities could ultimately ensure that the airport is capable of handling up to 100mppa.

A potential capacity of 100 million passengers per annum would certainly make Indira Gandhi International Airport one of the biggest airports in Asia.

The A380-friendly terminal will have separate levels for handling departing and arriving passengers and boast up to 75 airbridges, 160 check-in desks and 30 remote parking bays.

Key to the design is easy pedestrian access and flow with simple and direct access to all gates.

A further design consideration was to ensure an “enhanced passenger experience” by creating a large bright central open space designed to be both striking and dynamic for all visitors to the airport.

As a result, Terminal 3 will have a large open atrium that HOK firmly believes will provide a memorable experience for both arriving and departing passengers.

Says Morton: “Very early on in the project, the design team decided to create a memorable space for arriving passengers as typically they are the ones that miss out on the views at airports.

“Let me explain. When you depart from an airport, your experience is usually very pleasant – a large bright departure lounge with extensive retail and panoramic views of the airfield and aircraft. However, when you arrive, you are generally directed straight through to baggage reclaim and then to the landside concourse.



“At Delhi T3 passengers will experience a terminal that maximises the use of natural light and gives a feeling of openness for all passengers regardless of where they are in the building. We hope that the arrivals space in particular will provide a memorable welcome to India.”

The sense of space will be further enhanced by a distinct roof that is specifically designed to maximise the amount of light filtered in to the building at the same time as helping control inside temperatures. Roof materials will also contribute significantly to the reduction of heat gain while north facing glazing minimises solar gain. They will be supported by local air handling units and automatic building management systems that will ensure the appropriate level of environmental control.

Explains Morton: “The roof essentially folds in different directions allowing light to penetrate into the building. At the same time we had to prevent unwanted sunlight that would increase the thermal gain and amplify the pressure on the terminal’s cooling system. The ‘folded roof’ concept is quite unusual as many airports still tend to use an aerofoil roof design. However this concept gave us the quality of light and space we were looking for.”

The airport’s master plan developed by Mott MacDonald required that the design of T3 incorporated swing gates that could be used for either international or domestic arrivals/departures. The concept enabled the design team to minimise the number of gates needed while maximising the number of aircraft that can use the airport.

Terminal 3 will also be different as the building is set to provide an “unusually generous” amount of sheltered areas for passengers outside both the check-in hall and the arrivals concourse.

This is in response to the large number of well-wishers and meeters and greeters that visit Indira Gandhi International Airport and indeed all other major gateways in India.

Delhi’s new state-of-the-art terminal is being designed to accommodate a high proportion of retail outlets, the majority of which will be concentrated in the departures lounge and at a large retail village planned for the facility’s forecourt.

The airport’s new terminal will also have a small transit hotel capable of accommodating up to 60 guests.

Security has not been forgotten in the building’s design as T3 will have a large central security checkpoint after check-in and another one located at the entrance to the main concourse.

The terminal’s reinforced concrete base and lightweight steel frame structure supporting a modular steel roof is designed to withstand seismic shock.

Terminal 3 will have its own high-speed metro link that makes it possible to reach downtown Delhi within half an hour. It will also be served by new road infrastructure to help ease traffic congestion.

All foreign legacy carriers serving Delhi will relocate to the terminal when it opens in 2010. They include Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Emirates. Air India will also operate out of the showpiece facility.



HOK has considerable experience in airport planning and design projects around the world that include Indianapolis International Airport’s soon-to-be completed $1 billion Midfield Terminal and the expansion of Bahrain International Airport.

In partnership with Jacobs, HOK also designed the newlyopened terminal at Cork International Airport and was responsible for the transport interchange at London Heathrow’s €5.5 billion Terminal 5. It counts Boston Logan, Honolulu and Washington Dulles among its US clients.

In addition to HOK, other companies involved in the T3 project include Mott MacDonald as lead consultant responsible for the airport’s overall master plan and engineering, and Pell Frischmann, which is part of the team providing engineering and cost consultancy.

HOK, responsible for providing architectural design and planning for the terminal and a number of support buildings, took less than a year to complete its work allowing for construction of T3 to start in early 2007.

It will be built in two phases over 39 months in readiness for completion in March 2010, the carefully timed schedule is designed to ensure the minimum of disruption to passengers and aircraft operations.

Other major projects of Delhi’s ongoing $1.2 billion master plan include the renovation and expansion of the airport’s existing terminals and the construction of a new runway, cargo centre and general aviation facility.

Support infrastructure will include the construction of a new car park, additional fire rescue stations, a crisis management centre and an airport maintenance hub.

“The sense of excitement about this project in Delhi has become quite infectious,” enthuses Morton. “Delhi’s thriving community wants their city to become a destination of choice for the international business community and sees the renovation and expansion of its airport as a major factor in helping to propel Delhi onto the world stage.”



Asia-Pacific Airports 2008 Issue 2

Louise Driscoll and Joe Bates discover that airport development continues at a pace across the Middle East despite the global economic slowdown.

With an estimated $86 billion being spent on expansion projects, there is no denying that the Middle East region is one of the hottest places on earth for airport development. According to the latest research by Frost & Sullivan, 90% of the big spend will be concentrated on the expansion or creation of new airports at 12 destinations across the region – Abu Dhabi (UAE), Amman (Jordan), Bahrain (Bahrain), Beirut (Lebanon), Cairo (Egypt), Doha (Muscat), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait (Kuwait), Muscat (Oman), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Sharjah (UAE).

“The current economic slowdown will not impact on the Middle East commercial aviation industry and airport development activities will persist, despite the slowdown as most expansion activities are funded by governments in these countries,” notes Frost & Sullivan’s research analyst Gautam Ratan Kanal.

And in many cases the ambitious expansion plans go hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of the airport’s home carriers with Etihad (Abu Dhabi), Emirates (Dubai) and Qatar Airways (Doha) being among the fastest growing airlines in the world.

Dubai’s new $8.1 billion Al Maktoum International Airport – the centrepiece of Dubai World Central, a planned ‘urban aviation community’ spread across a huge 140 square kilometre site – will officially open for cargo operations on June 27.

Although yet to set a date for the launch of passenger operations, a 7mppa capacity terminal is currently under construction.

When complete, it is expected to handle low-cost, regional and charter flights, providing some relief for Dubai International Airport, which handled 40.9 million (+9.2%) passengers last year and predicts 13.6% growth in 2010.

Both airports will eventually be linked by high-speed rail and, in the long-term, Al Maktoum is set to boast two mega terminals, six runways and six concourses capable of handling more than 120mppa.

Elsewhere in the UAE, the nation’s second largest gateway, Abu Dhabi International Airport, is constructing a new Midfield Terminal as part of its $6.8 billion expansion programme.

The new Midfield Terminal, which will effectively replace today’s existing facilities, will raise the gateway’s capacity to 20mppa when it opens in 2015.

The massive project is in-line with the Abu Dhabi government’s ‘Plan 2030’ to diversify the Emirate’s economy to decrease its dependence on oil and gas.

Abu Dhabi Airport Company’s vice president of corporate marketing and communications, George Karamanos, says: “We already have 45 airlines here and the number is growing.

This growth, coupled with Etihad’s fast expanding network and frequencies, means that we have simply outgrown our existing facilities.

We anticipate steady passenger growth for the next five years and beyond.

” The airport has more than doubled its passenger numbers in the six years since Etihad Airways has been operational.

Perhaps central to this rapid growth, the Middle East is geographically well positioned to develop as a primary logistics and transfer hub, feeding passenger traffic and trade between Europe and Asia.

As the Gulf airports transform themselves into ultra-modern new gateways, mega terminals are springing up to serve the world’s biggest passenger aircraft.

One will be in Qatar, where the government is funding the construction of a new $14 billion gateway for capital city, Doha, which is claimed will be one of the first gateways in the world designed to accommodate the A380.

Due to open in July 2011, the New Doha International Airport will initially be capable of handling 24 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

Its multi-level 350,000sqm passenger terminal – an area equivalent in size to 50 football pitches – will boast 40 gates, a distinctive wave shaped roof to reflect Qatar’s seafaring past and its own 100-room transit hotel and public mosque.

Also aligning airport development with the needs of its airline customers, Oman’s largest gateway, Muscat International Airport, has begun the first phase of its modernisation programme designed to raise its capacity to 12mppa by 2012.

And further expansion is planned in three phases in a bid to boost the airport’s capacity to 48 million passengers by 2050.

Building market share continues to fuel yet more airport expansion.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, state-owned Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) plans to triple its handling capacity to 27mppa and become a ‘mega airport’ for the region through multi-billion dollar investments.

Major construction is due to start this year and includes the addition of two new terminals: Terminal 1A – (adjacent to the existing facility) and demolishing and rebuilding the present terminal with a new Terminal 1B.

BAC is now tendering a design contract for the overall development and has started receiving bids from HOK Architects, Naco, Aéroports de Paris Ingenierie, Mott Macdonald, Jacobs Gibb and Dar al Handasah.

In Amman, Jordan, Airport International Group’s 25 year concession (awarded in 2007) to redevelop and expand Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) includes overseeing a $750m redevelopment and expansion project, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art 100,000sqm passenger terminal in readiness for a spring 2012 opening.

The long-term objective is to transform QAIA into a key regional hub, while raising capacity from 3.5 to 9mppa.

“We are continuing to experience strong traffic growth despite the dire global economic conditions of the past year,” says AIG’s CEO, Curtis Grad, who notes that passenger throughput increased by 6.5% to 4.7mppa in 2009 while aircraft movements soared by 12.6%.

In Saudi Arabia, major new facilities are planned in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has unveiled plans to invest up to $5 billion on five new gateways, including a possible fourth airport designed to serve the Muslim holy city of Medina.

GACA estimates that in excess of $13 billion needs to be invested on modernising and expanding Saudi Arabia’s airports, with Jeddah– King Abdulaziz being the main beneficiary of the largely government funded upgrade.

In addition to a new 400,000sqm crescent-shaped passenger terminal in Jeddah, the gateway’s $1.5 billion upgrade includes new runways, a state-of-the-art 450,000 tonnes per annum capacity cargo complex, new ATC tower and railway station in readiness for a rail link to both downtown Jeddah and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

A planned Automated People Mover (APM) will provide the ground transportation links between the new 42-gate terminal and the Hajj Terminal, which is being expanded and redeveloped by the Hajj and Umrah Terminals Construction and Development Co (HTDC) on behalf of concessionaire SBG.

In addition to King Abdulaziz, a master plan currently being drawn up by NACO will involve increasing the capacity of Riyadh–King Khaled International Airport from 14mppa to 40mppa by 2038.

“We are also conducting studies at King Fahd International Airport (Dammam) and 13 other regional gateways which we believe are most in need of extra capacity.

Of these, Abha is our top priority as it is the fifth busiest airport in the Kingdom,” says HH Prince Turki Faisal Al-Saud, GACA’s vice president of international organisation affairs and ACI Asia-Pacific’s acting first vice president.

Meanwhile Kuwait International Airport is planning to upgrade its airfield and construct a 90,000sqm second terminal that will treble its capacity to in excess of 20 million passengers per annum by 2013.

Additional expansion plans include a two million square metre cargo and logistics complex that when complete will be capable of simultaneously accommodating up to 70 A380s and around six million tonnes of freight annually.

The hugely ambitious development programme, being drawn up by the airport as it prepares its master plan for the next 30 years, would create an impressive new ‘front door’ to Kuwait that will help the airport cope with rising demand of up to 17% per annum.

In the short and medium-term, the greater need for capacity and the drive towards airport infrastructure development will continue as the home carriers in the Middle East continue their growth paths across pan-Arabian and Intercontinental networks.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2010 Issue 1