Dreams of region's aviation hub take flight

Dubai: One of the most significant changes that the UAE has seen over the last 30 years is in the aviation industry, clearly led by Dubai and its airline, Emirates.

The airline, established in 1985 with just two leased aircraft, has now grown to 111, carrying more than 20 million passengers.

Combined passenger traffic in Dubai and Abu Dhabi rose from a few hundred thousands in 1971 to nearly 50 million last year.

In the 1970s, the UAE did not even have its own airline. Abu Dhabi government used to own a 25 per cent share in Gulf Air — the Bahrain-based airline of Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The success of Emirates, the most profitable Arab carrier, has encouraged others to launch their own airlines. As a result, five more airlines came into being in the last four years, taking the total number of airlines to six, including a freight operator, making the UAE the busiest air hub in the region.

In 2003, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah launched their own carriers — Etihad and Air Arabia, which is the Middle East's first budget airline.

Currently, four out of the UAE's seven emirates — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah — have their own airlines, while Fujairah is planning its own.

"This region is leading the world in aircraft orders, $60 billion [about Dh220 billion] by just three airlines [Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways]." Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director-general and chief executive told delegates at a conference in Yemen last year.

The growth in the country's aviation sector has put pressure on its airports, requiring heavy investment in infrastructure. Nearly a third of all the airport development projects across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, valued at $65 billion, are currently taking place in the UAE.

Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA) in Jebel Ali, slated to be the world's biggest greenfield airport development, leads the projects with $8.2 billion investment, while a $6.8 billion redevelopment of the Abu Dhabi International Airport will create a new hub in the UAE capital city. A $4.1 billion Dubai International Airport expansion, which will more than double its existing passenger handling capacity to 70 million, will help the UAE to create the largest aviation hub in the region. A redeveloped Abu Dhabi International Airport will see passenger handling capacity rising to 50 million, while the AMIA will, once completed, have a capacity of 150 million, making it the biggest in the world.

Once completed, the three airports will have a combined passenger handling capacity of 270 million per year — more than the total population in the Arab world.