In 2001 Dubai International (DXB) ranked just 99th in the list of the world’s busiest airports, today it is the fourth largest for international traffic and is expected to become the world’s busiest airport by 2015 – proof that the emirate’s aviation model is reaping rewards.
By 2020, airport operator Dubai Airports predicts passenger numbers at DXB will reach 98.5 million, more traffic than any other airport handles at present, while cargo volumes will top
4.1 million tonnes.
And Dubai Duty Free, the airport’s 15,000sqft of retail space, has become the biggest single airport retail operation in the world, with revenues of
$1.27 billion in 2010.
So what is the secret of Dubai’s phenomenal success?
Key has been the realisation that connectivity is all-important and through the close cooperation between stakeholders – Dubai Airports, Emirates Airlines, the government and more recently flydubai – DXB has become established as a leading interconnecting hub for international traffic.
“Aviation is one of the main engines driving Dubai’s emergence as a global centre for trade, commerce and tourism,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports.
“That is why we have created a business and regulatory environment that supports its growth by encouraging open competition between all airlines, efficient operations and customer satisfaction. There is no magic here.
It’s just good business.
“Dubai’s aviation model revolves around a liberal regulatory climate, a
tax-free business environment, a customer-centric focus that provides value for money, and close coordination and collaboration within the sector,” he adds.
The emirate’s growing importance as a regional centre for trade, tourism and commerce and the recent completion of a number of infrastructure projects, such as the Dubai Metro Green Line, have also played an important part in boosting Dubai’s status as an attractive place for international investment.
According to a recent study conducted by the global research firm Oxford Economics, aviation directly or indirectly supports over 250,000 jobs and contributes over $22 billion to the regional economy annually, representing some 19% of total employment and 28% of Dubai’s $80 billion GDP.
Meanwhile, analysis of forward schedules by the Centre for Asia
Pacific Aviation (CAPA) also reveals
DXB could become the world’s second busiest international airport by November 2011, thanks in part to a seasonal upswing in capacity offered
by airlines based in the Gulf and increases in traffic connecting
Europe with the Asia-Pacific region
via Dubai.
Today, DXB is connected by
150 airlines to 220 destinations
across six continents.
Dubai’s geographical proximity
to both the emerging economies of the
Far East, and Europe, Africa and North America has also played a major role in its success, especially in the expansion of its flag carrier, Emirates.
Emirates has seen passenger numbers grow six-fold over the course of a decade, making it the largest airline in the world in terms of international revenue passenger kilometres and, as of August 2011, the third largest airline globally as measured by Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs).
From its base at Dubai’s Terminal 3, the airline operates to over 100 destinations in six continents, with a particularly strong presence in South and South East Asia.
The airline’s focus is on new emerging markets and high yield, long-haul markets and this is reflected in its fleet make-up. The airline is the biggest operator of the B777 in the world and has 90 A380s on order.
The completion of the $3.5 billion A380-dedicated Concourse 3 in
2012 will provide a platform for significant growth.
Meanwhile, flydubai, the
government-owned low-cost carrier launched in 2008, continues its breakneck expansion, and now flies to
45 destinations in less well served markets in Russia such as Ufa and Kazan, South East Asia such as Chittagong and Ahmedabad and Lucknow in India and Gassim in Saudi Arabia.
While work on Concourse 3 continues, Dubai Airports is also focusing on the scenario ahead.
Following its endorsement by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, in July, Dubai Airports has begun a $7.8 billion expansion of DXB as part of the Strategic Plan 2020.
This will include the expansion of airspace, airfield, aircraft stands and terminal areas at DXB over the next
nine years to increase capacity from
60 million to 90 million.
Airspace expansion plans focus
on optimising runway capacity and implementing efficient systems and processes in order to accommodate and manage additional aircraft movements.
Meanwhile, Dubai Airports is also working with national and regional
civil aviation authorities and ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers) to ensure that air routes are decongested, bottlenecks are reduced and as much latent airspace capacity is unlocked
as possible.
As airspace opens up, extra aircraft movements will be accommodated on the ground with the addition of a new taxiway and a 60% increase in the number of stands (from 144 to 230) needed to park and service aircraft.
Beyond Concourse 3, which will boost capacity to 75 million passengers when completed, Dubai Airports will commission the construction of additional terminal space and concourse areas comprising an extra 675,000sqm of floor space.
This includes the expansion of Terminal 2 and the construction
of a new concourse – Concourse 4 – which will be connected to
Terminal 1 to facilitate check-in and baggage servicing.
Cargo capacity will be augmented with a 30,000sqm expansion of the cargo mega terminal. This will cater for additional belly hold cargo delivered by
larger passenger aircraft.
Looking ahead to 2018–2023,
with expansion completed at DXB, the additional aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue generated by the predicted increase in traffic flows will be used to fund the ongoing development of Al Maktoum International Airport, the heart of the new Dubai World Central (DWC).
Phase 2 of DWC will escalate
during this period, with the initial
target to allow for 80 million passengers per year to use the facility and with the eventual aim of relocating the Emirates hub and closing DXB.
Once completed, DWC will be
the world’s largest airport, with five runways and capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes
of cargo annually – a suitable base for the emirate’s ambitious aviation expansion plans.
This article features in Routes News 2011 Issue 6
