Picture this: you’ve got a four-hour layover in Doha, and instead of slumping against a charging point watching the clock, you’re walking past a 7-metre yellow teddy bear and through an indoor forest with 300 trees. That’s not a daydream – that’s just a normal Tuesday at Hamad International Airport.
It turns out Hamad isn’t the only one. A new round-up of the world’s most striking airport terminals has just named nine buildings that are rewriting what a transit stop can feel like – and two of them are a short flight from Kuwait.
So which ones made the cut, and what makes them worth the walk between gates?
The short version
- Hamad International Airport in Doha and Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi are both named among the nine most beautiful airports in the world.
- Hamad’s design, by architecture firm HOK, takes its shape from Qatar’s coastline and dunes, and includes an indoor garden with roughly 300 trees and 250,000 plants.
- Zayed International, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, has an undulating roof inspired by desert dunes and a largely column-free departure hall rising 50 metres high.
- The other seven airports on the list are in India, Cambodia, China, Germany and the United States.
Doha’s Hamad International: dunes, waves and a giant teddy bear
Hamad International is already one of the region’s busiest hubs, and the new recognition points to more than just its traffic numbers. Its curving silhouette is meant to echo Qatar’s coastal landscape, with arches, skylights and steel-framed glass walls letting daylight pour through the terminal.
There’s also an art trail that runs from gate to gate, so even a long layover doesn’t have to mean staring at a departure board. The airport’s giant yellow teddy bear sculpture, a long-time favourite with travellers passing through, gets a mention too.
Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International: a roof like rolling sand dunes
Zayed International takes a similar approach but with its own character. The roof undulates the way desert dunes do, and inside, there are barely any columns breaking up the space – instead, large leaning arches hold up a departure hall that stretches 50 metres high.
The terminal is laid out around four piers, each themed after a different part of Abu Dhabi’s identity: desert, sea, city and oases. It’s designed so that moving between gates feels less like a slog and more like part of the journey.
What this means if you’re flying out of Kuwait
Both Doha and Abu Dhabi are common connection points for people travelling from Kuwait to Europe, Asia or further afield, so there’s a decent chance you’ll pass through one of these terminals on your next trip. If you’ve got a long layover coming up, it might be worth building in time to actually walk around rather than just sitting at the gate.
It’s also a reminder that airport design across the Gulf has shifted in recent years, moving away from plain, function-first terminals toward something travellers might genuinely enjoy spending time in. If you’re keeping an eye on how air travel is changing more broadly, it’s worth also knowing about new full-body scanners being installed at airports, which could affect how long security checks take on your next trip.
Quick answers
Which airports made the full list?
Alongside Hamad International in Doha and Zayed International in Abu Dhabi, the list includes Terminal 2 at Guwahati’s airport in India, Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Terminal 3 at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, Pittsburgh International Airport, Terminal 1 at Navi Mumbai International Airport in India, and Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport in the US.
Who designed Hamad and Zayed International?
Hamad International Airport’s terminal was designed by HOK. Zayed International Airport was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.
Next time you’re stuck on a layover in Doha or Abu Dhabi, maybe skip the usual coffee-and-phone routine and take a proper look around – you might be standing in one of the most photographed terminals in the world. Have you passed through either of these airports? Let us know what stood out for you in the comments.