Dubai to be fourth biggest aviation hub

Dubai is already the world’s sixth biggest aviation hub, surpassing Singapore’s Changi last year, the Airports Council International (ACI) said.

Towards 2028, about 14 of the world’s top 20 large airports will be located in Asia-pacific.

Dubai Airports, the operating company created to manage Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC-AMI), hopes to see a growth of 8.28 percent in passenger traffic, touching 40.5million this year, an increase from 37.44 million last year, the Dubai Airport Chief Executive, Paul Griffiths said.

Despite the global economic conditions, the growth in passenger traffic will be 13.6 percent next year, touching 46million passengers, as by then DWC-AMI will also get operational, Griffiths said.

The Chief Operating Officer John Leahy identified growing Middle East passenger and cargo hubs as one of the top five factors for growth in the aviation industry.

Although Asia will take the lead in the growth of aviation industry in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) or passenger traffic, Middle East is likely to surpass all other regions.

On completion, the two airports in Dubai will have a total capacity of up to 250million passengers annually, making Dubai one of the world’s biggest aviation hubs.

Posted on 27/9/2009

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