Keen on building a strong and sustainable future for their airports, Middle East countries in general and Arabian Gulf states in particular are building new airports or expanding existing facilities to meet the demands of future air travellers.
Those airport infrastructure investments will come under the spotlight at the 14th edition of Airport Show, 11-13 May, which will also see the staging in tandem of the second edition of Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) and Travel Catering Expo (TCE).
Daniyal Qureshi, director of Airport Show and GALF said: “Airports expansion is a major area of focus for the aviation industry in almost every part of the world, especially the Middle East. Everyone now realizes the importance of investment in airports, keeping in mind the massive surge expected in air travellers in the coming decade.”
Forecast to overtake London Heathrow as the world’s top airport for international passengers in 2015, Dubai has its US$34 billion Dubai World Central (DWC) project, which involves construction of five runways and capacity to handle 160 million passengers a year.
In November last year, Dubai opened the passenger terminal of its second international airport, Al Maktoum International.
Dubai is expected to invest over US$8.1 billion in new infrastructure to host Expo 2020 and Dubai Airports is preparing to double the emirate’s passenger handling capacity to 200 million passengers a year by 2045, up from the current target of 100 million a year by 2020.
A fourth concourse is under construction, after the opening of the Airbus A380-dedicated concourse A brought capacity to 75 million. Dubai Airports is undergoing an AED28.8 billion expansion program.
Abu Dhabi will have a new airport terminal complex commissioned by 2017. The 700,000 square metre terminal building is one of the key strategic infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the UAE capital, and will initially handle 27 million passengers per year. It will be the future home of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.
Sharjah Airport is waiting to complete its 2030 master plan. Much of Sharjah’s growth over the past decade has been fuelled by the Gulf’s first low-cost carrier, Air Arabia. Sharjah International reportedly handled 7.5 million passengers in 2012, a 13.6 per cent year-on-year jump from the previous year.
The Sultanate of Oman has earmarked US$6.1 billion over five years for aviation projects, which include major terminal developments at Muscat and Salalah international airports, and completion of four new regional airports at Sohar, Ras al Hadd, Duqm and Adam. While eight per cent of the US$6.1 billion is earmarked for the completion of the four regional airports, 92 per cent is allocated for the two primary airports in Muscat and Salalah.
The new Muscat International Airport is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2014. Currently the airport handles eight million passengers per year with an average growth of 16 per cent. The new Muscat airport is designed to handle 12 million passengers and could be expanded to take 48 million.
The 14th edition of the Airport Show will be held Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), chairman of Dubai Airports and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, and with the support of DCAA, Dubai Airports and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) among others.
Keen on building a strong and sustainable future for their airports, Middle East countries in general and Arabian Gulf states in particular are building new airports or expanding existing facilities to meet the demands of future air travellers.
Those airport infrastructure investments will come under the spotlight at the 14th edition of Airport Show, 11-13 May, which will also see the staging in tandem of the second edition of Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) and Travel Catering Expo (TCE).
Daniyal Qureshi, director of Airport Show and GALF said: “Airports expansion is a major area of focus for the aviation industry in almost every part of the world, especially the Middle East. Everyone now realizes the importance of investment in airports, keeping in mind the massive surge expected in air travellers in the coming decade.”
Forecast to overtake London Heathrow as the world’s top airport for international passengers in 2015, Dubai has its US$34 billion Dubai World Central (DWC) project, which involves construction of five runways and capacity to handle 160 million passengers a year.
In November last year, Dubai opened the passenger terminal of its second international airport, Al Maktoum International.
Dubai is expected to invest over US$8.1 billion in new infrastructure to host Expo 2020 and Dubai Airports is preparing to double the emirate’s passenger handling capacity to 200 million passengers a year by 2045, up from the current target of 100 million a year by 2020.
A fourth concourse is under construction, after the opening of the Airbus A380-dedicated concourse A brought capacity to 75 million. Dubai Airports is undergoing an AED28.8 billion expansion program.
Abu Dhabi will have a new airport terminal complex commissioned by 2017. The 700,000 square metre terminal building is one of the key strategic infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the UAE capital, and will initially handle 27 million passengers per year. It will be the future home of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.
Sharjah Airport is waiting to complete its 2030 master plan. Much of Sharjah’s growth over the past decade has been fuelled by the Gulf’s first low-cost carrier, Air Arabia. Sharjah International reportedly handled 7.5 million passengers in 2012, a 13.6 per cent year-on-year jump from the previous year.
The Sultanate of Oman has earmarked US$6.1 billion over five years for aviation projects, which include major terminal developments at Muscat and Salalah international airports, and completion of four new regional airports at Sohar, Ras al Hadd, Duqm and Adam. While eight per cent of the US$6.1 billion is earmarked for the completion of the four regional airports, 92 per cent is allocated for the two primary airports in Muscat and Salalah.
The new Muscat International Airport is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2014. Currently the airport handles eight million passengers per year with an average growth of 16 per cent. The new Muscat airport is designed to handle 12 million passengers and could be expanded to take 48 million.
The 14th edition of the Airport Show will be held Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), chairman of Dubai Airports and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, and with the support of DCAA, Dubai Airports and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) among others.
