DOHA HAMAD INTERNATIONAL

摘要

The official identity of Qatar's new gateway was revealed in January when Abdul Aziz Al Noaimi, Chairman of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, said it had been named after the Gulf state's Emir, His Highness Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The much-delayed facility - estimated to have cost between US$15-16 billion - was originally scheduled to open in 2009, but recently missed another deadline that was set for December 12,2012. At a press event to celebrate Qatar Airway's first Boeing 787 flight to London Heathrow on December 13, 2012, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker told Airports International that the new airport was: "complete, except for the airline lounges." He revealed that it had already handled a few "overspill flights" from the existing Doha Airport associated with a major exhibition and conference that was taking place there. At the same press conference Mr Al Baker said Qatar Airways which, through its Group status is the airport operator and main customer, would be launching a US$600m compensation claim against the company it held responsible for the delayed lounges. He added: "You can imagine how much it would cost an airline to delay its move to a new home."