QATAR. Today’s choice of video comes courtesy of Hamad International Airport.
Titled ‘What makes this airport the Best in the World?’ , it sets out to answer that question with a dazzling six-minute showcase of the qualities and services that led to Hamad International Airport being named ‘World’s Best Airport’ at the recent Skytrax World Airport Awards.
The Doha gateway also won the Skytrax award for ‘World’s Best Airport Shopping’ The award – HIA’s second in succession – recognises the outstanding retail work of Qatar Duty Free.
“What comes to mind when you think of an airport? Is it rushing to your gate? Worrying you missed the flight? Is it the long queues at the check-in counter? The loud noises? Well, I have a secret to tell you. Not all airports are like that. Especially this one,” the film’s voiceover commences.
“At this airport passengers experience something they’ve never seen before – an airport where you can relax, discover art, shop and even get in touch with nature. It sounds too good to be true, right?”
Wrong. The airport – Hamad International Airport – offers all that and more. Including a superbly diverse and high-quality food & beverage offer; luxury shopping on a unprecedented scale (literally so in the case of the giant duplex luxury stores and façades); and of course The Orchard, a 6,000sq m indoor tropical garden boasting a 575sq m water feature.
There’s a squash court, golf simulator and magnificent art programme, anchored by the iconic (a badly overused word we generally avoid but in this case is totally apposite) Lamp Bear by Swiss artist Urs Fischer – a 23-foot canary-yellow teddy bear sculpted from bronze, that sits peacefully inside a lamp.
The film reveals the passenger terminal, at an impressive 22sq km, is the largest building in Qatar. “That’s a city in itself,” says the narrator.
A city like no other. A destination in its own right. And, according to Skytrax, the best airport in the world. ✈
