You might expect a little flamboyance from Abdul Wahab Mohammad Khalfan Al Roumi. After all, he became Director-General of Sharjah Civil Aviation Department at the relatively young age of 38, having been headhunted in 2002 by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Sharjah Airport International Free Zone and Sharjah Civil Aviation Department and also chairman of Air Arabia. Under his guidance, Sharjah International Airport grew with a happy rapidity - from 750,000 passengers in 2002 to more than six million in 2009.
But Al Roumi is a quietly confident man. A vein of humour, however, runs like an unexpectedly bright thread through his calm expression and even tone. The result is a decidedly different experience for an interviewer. From time to time, from beneath the calm and collected exterior, an underlying energy bubbles to the surface, exuberance even, which for the most part is obviously held in check.
He got his first job in the petroleum industry at the age of 23. And he ‘retired' at the age of 38, after 15 years with Emarat, because "we were allowed to in those days, and I wanted to do something on my own". But the call of his emirate was too strong to ignore and Al Roumi was soon learning the ropes at the Department of Civil Aviation in Sharjah. Eight years on, his involvement in his job is evidently driven by enthusiasm if his body language is anything to go by. He leans forward and his face lights up as he talks about the various aspects of his job.
"Flight safety is one of the most important issues at an airport," he says. "Since the airport now falls within the city limits, we have developed and initiated some procedures in the landing and take-off that work very well for us. We have also introduced a lot of training programmes across all departments to increase safety, we send people overseas to observe how the best airports function, invite experts from overseas to help us here... we are always on top of the game. Times have changed, and so have we."
However, despite his great strides in his job, there is a part of him that even now wants to retire and choose his own path. But there is also a large part of him that wants to keep going, taking the department to greater heights. And he does not hesitate to acknowledge his dilemma. And as dilemmas go, sometimes there are no easy answers.
I, ME, MYSELF
I love my job in the aviation sector because every aspect of it changes constantly. There are new challenges every day, we have to evolve new ways of thinking [to deal with the changes]. This is an industry which is changing very fast. We have to be ever vigilant; we cannot compromise on safety.
I am a board member of Air Arabia and it has changed the concept of travel in the UAE, maybe even in the Middle East. In the past people travelled once a year, or even once every two years. After we introduced Air Arabia [with its low-cost flights] people started flying twice or three times a year, may be even more.
I am a calm person; I think that's one of my strong points. The last thing I would want to do is think of pulling up people [for transgressions]. I have the gift of analysing a situation, and thinking in a proactive way. It is something I learnt from my previous job in the petroleum industry.
I am a workaholic - I love to work. Sometimes it affects my family life. But I try not to let that happen.
I am not a tough boss, even though some among my staff may feel I am. I would say I am a fair boss. Even if I see somebody committing an error, I won't hold that against that person, when for instance it comes to promotion or something like that.
I prefer to forget the bad things that people do to me. I am not a person who remembers every slight. I am not vindictive at all.
I do not believe in blowing my own trumpet. I did not use the title ‘Engineer' in front of my name (even though that is the practice of qualified engineers in the region). I have been working since 1986, but started using the title for the first time four months ago following a suggestion from one of my staff.
Me and my philosophy
Be simple, be you. Don't try to live others' lives; know yourself and what your objectives are. I always tell my children, a person with an objective will not get lost. Be an objective person, but most importantly be yourself and be honest. Treat people as you wish to be treated, because life will not be the same always. You may hold a high position today, but tomorrow is another day.
Me and my childhood
They were my best days, beautiful days. I grew up in a house near the sea, near where the Radisson Blu hotel stands today. So I have a strong affinity with the sea. In those days, Sharjah was very quiet. We'd go to school, then straight to play once classes were over. I still have very strong relations with my childhood friends which is not something to be taken for granted these days. The best thing is that my children are friends with my friends' children too.
Although my parents were not educated, they forced us to study. [I have five siblings - three brothers and two sisters] and all of us graduated from good schools. There were no private schools then, and we all studied in government schools. After school I chose to study at Al Ain University. I studied chemical and petroleum engineering. At that time Al Ain was a quiet oasis. We would go up Jebel Hafeet mountain during breaks from studying. It was a good learning experience for us as we had to depend on ourselves, without a family to fall back on. It taught us to take life more seriously, and we all studied hard. [Another hurdle was the medium of instruction that I chose - English]. I had some knowledge of English because my parents used to send me to the UK during summer vacations for English classes. But it was still very difficult.
Me and parenthood
A lot of things change with parenthood. My concerns with my children have to do with giving them the right values. Life is very different nowadays for the young because of many factors - the availability of money, easy access to the internet and electronic gadgets, the various shopping malls where they can socialise [and could be vulnerable to bad influences]. I try to educate my children about how to cultivate a discipline to avoid these temptations. I am the kind of father who sits with them, plays with them, travels with them, and in spite of my busy schedule I take care to see that I am always there to share their problems.
Me and my inspiration
Successful people - those who work very hard - inspire me. I believe in myself and in the fact that nothing is impossible... My elder brother had a major influence on me. He is a teacher. I am the youngest in the family and there is a 20-year difference between us. So I look up to him. He was so influential in our society that I wanted to emulate him.
My father is another great influence. He not only educated us all but also learnt to read and write English and Arabic. A true inspiration.
Me and my dreams
A man without dreams is no man. Yes, I have many dreams, and one of them is to bring up my children to be good and responsible human beings. I would like to ensure that they grow up to be independent, and be comfortably settled in life. I have another dream, this one for myself - to establish my own business.
Me and travelling
I like to travel. I like to take my family along to see different places and cultures. London is one of my favourite destinations, maybe because I've been going there since my childhood and there are so many memories connected with it. I like Paris, too.
How did an oil industry professional come to head the Civil Aviation department?
True, I came from the petroleum industry. But there are some common factors in the petroleum industry and the aviation industry, mainly safety and security. The safety factor is very important because any mistake could lead to a disaster, be it in terms of human lives, or equipment and assets. It's the same in the aviation industry. I suppose these thoughts may have been in the mind of Shaikh Abdullah when he selected me for this position. He has supported me all along.
Those days in 2002, Sharjah International Airport was handling around 700,000 passengers annually. We didn't have a national airline, and a limited number of airlines operated from the airport. The UAE government was still developing safety and regulative measures based on international law. We concentrated on streamlining the procedures, developing the department, recruiting the right people. Then we started promoting Sharjah as a destination, and that was when we thought of establishing our own airline.
We had to think of ways to attract people and other international airlines to Sharjah airport, especially as we were in a very competitive market. The decision was taken to start small, and to concentrate on safety.
When it came to our airline, we thought low-cost. To build up a new airline was a challenge, but it took us just six months to become operational due to some extraordinary work done by the Civil Aviation department.
Then we started expanding the airport. While the project was on, a lot of things came up so we started developing and we ended up with five times more space. We rebuilt most of it, but of course we retained the same style and design of the original airport.
What are the development plans for the airport?
Sharjah airport was established in 1932. It is the oldest airport in this region, and was rebuilt in the late 1970s. With the advent of Air Arabia, we've seen a major increase in growth. In 2009, we handled more than six million passengers. So there is great pressure on us to improve the facilities. Mind you, we are not building a new facility, only improving the existing one. That was a great challenge for us.
Along with developing the facilities, we also started developing the procedures, safety management systems, manuals, etc. Security measures were one of our main concerns. Thankfully, we have achieved what we wanted.
Today Sharjah airport is the first airport to have its Safety Management System approved by the GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority).
We have developed a lot of procedures and systems within the department. We have built a new catering facility. Of course, we have our constraints as the airport now falls within the city limits.
We now require a second runway. It will be 250 metres away from the existing one and once it is commissioned we will refurbish the existing runway. That is our major project at present.
We are also planning to build three additional lounges with an aerobridge connecting them. There are also plans to build new VIP lounges.
