Airport Capacity Modelling for the Football World Cup 2022

The challenge

32 national football teams, officials, VIPs and 1.8 million fans are expected to attend the first FIFA World Cup to be held in the Middle East in November and December 2022. With 86% of people forecast to arrive into Qatar by plane, Hamad International Airport (HIA) wished to gauge the volume of passengers anticipated to pass through their airport during the course of the event.

As part of the HIA Q22 Event Readiness Planning team, HIA retained a world-class team of consultancies with o&i consulting analysing the airfield and terminal capacity.

 

Our role

o&i consulting’s Operational Research team supported the Event Readiness Planning team with analytical expertise to provide Hamad International Airport with an understanding of the capacity requirements to handle the forecast volumes at a given level of service.

The capacity analysis included the following key areas:

  • Airfield: the number of stands required to park the forecast traffic at the airport
  • Terminal capacity: the arrival and departure facilities requirement to meet the forecast passenger movements

We worked with the airport operator to determine a set of operating scenarios for the World Cup period and developed schedules for the peak arrival and departure days. These were modelled to generate an understanding of the impact of highest demand days on the airport and to identify where capacity shortfalls for airfield and terminal facilities existed. Utilising the model, we were able to guide the client on which operating scenarios would deliver an amazing experience for all FIFA traffic attending the World Cup

The airport operator is now equipped with an understanding of the capacity challenges that need to be addressed in advance of the event and a clear roadmap of milestones (decisions and infrastructure) in order to deliver a successful World Cup

 

o&i expertise

  • Information gathering and data sourcing
  • Data analysis
  • Model design and development
  • Capacity analysis
  • Scenario modelling and analysis
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Reporting

 

Project Key Facts

Title: Airport Capacity Modelling for the Football World Cup 2022

Client: Hamad International Airport

Theme: Olympic Games and Other Major Sporting Events