In April, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar was listed as the World’s Best Airport in the 2024 Skytrax World Airport Awards. This is the third time it has won the award – the first was in 2021, and then again in 2022.
At about 600,000sq m, the passenger terminal at HIA is huge and it would take you some time to explore the place. At that hour, and after a seven-and-a-half-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, I wasn’t really in the mood to do all that walking.I did manage to check out the dining options, a few shops and, of course, the Instagram-worthy giant Lamp Bear sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer in the middle of the main terminal. It was ... OK.
The Orchard is a gorgeous space filled with real trees and plants, a “treetop bridge”, and a waterfall that seems to be part of a light installation. I really liked the place, though it did kind of feel like an adaptation of Changi’s Jewel.There were lots of seating areas around, including some tents for folks who need to rest and want some privacy. There were also numerous power points for those of us who constantly need to charge our phones, laptops and other electronic devices.
While the toilets were clean and dry, I was not too impressed by some of the boarding gates. For the flight to KL that day, the boarding gate was at a more secluded area, one which was further away from the shiny luxury shops. The seats and carpet had food crumbs and even some rubbish on the floor.