Doha – Mubasher: The number of passengers through the Hamad International Airport (HIA) rose by 24.4% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2018, and 10.6% year-on-year.

HIA received 9.7 million passengers during Q3-18, the highest quarterly increase in a year, versus 7.8 million passengers in Q2-18, according to an official statement on Tuesday.

On monthly basis, 3.4 million travelers used the airport in July, 3.5 million in August, and 2.8 million in September, HIA added.

During the three-month period ended September, HIA handled 57,030 aircraft traffic, receiving 538,550 tonnes of cargo shipments, the statement said.

Qatar has previously announced more tourist facilitations in a bid to attract visitors and compensate the Gulf embargo, relieving citizens of 80 countries of admission visa.

Since June 2017, four Arab countries -Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the UAE, decided to cut off diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing the GCC nation of financing terrorism. Doha forcefully denies the charges.