Dubai: Sharjah’s aviation industry has “huge growth potential” and is well-placed to help boost inbound tourism to the emirate, said Shaikh Khalid Bin Issam Al Qasimi, chairman of Sharjah’s Department of Civil Aviation.
In a meeting with a team from Oxford Business Group, Al Qasimi discussed Sharjah’s plans to boost regional connectivity, and said the emirate’s aviation industry is set to support Sharjah’s businesses.
“Sharjah has traffic rights to 161 countries. However, only 21 per cent of them are currently being utilised. This provides Sharjah’s aviation sector with huge growth potential,” he said.
The emirate’s new airspace structure, which will be implemented in early December, was another topic of discussion at the meeting. Devised with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, the redesign is a priority for Sharjah due to the increase in traffic in the UAE’s airspace.
“The design will provide separate entry gateways, holding points and flight pathways into the UAE’s airports and allow for further growth,” Al Qasimi said.
Discussing safety at Sharjah International Airport, he said that the Department of Civil Aviation was taking steps to modernise the facility as part of a broader bid to improve its classification to category III from its current category II.
