This $16-billion airport helped Qatar Airways become the best in the world

By Benjamin Zhang

Qatar Airways has been named the Best Airline in the World for 2015 by leading aviation consumer website Skytrax.

However, the carrier's one glaring weakness over the years has been the antiquated and over-crowded Doha International Airport. In fact, the overcrowding affected the airline's on-time performance so much that it kept the airline from the top spot on Business Insider's list of the world's best airlines.

But that's all changed!

Doha International has been shuttered. In its place is the gleaming new Hamad International Airport (HIA). It's biggest tenant and benefactor is none other than Qatar Airways.

The new airport, constructed on 5,400 acres of land, features two world-class terminal buildings along with two of the longest runways in Asia, with each more than 14,000 feet long.