A special research study on the GCC airports performance and future growth trends and projections was released for the Airport Show 2012 which took place in Dubai from May 22 to 24 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Titled ‘Aviation in the GCC States - Flying High Amidst Global Turbulence’, the publication has been prepared for the Airport Show 2012 by its PR agency Nadd Al Shiba PR and Event Management and can be downloaded by registering online through the show’s website www.theairportshow.com.
The special report is one of the initiatives, alongside the seminars series, to enhance the knowledge of the aviation industry professionals about latest trends and developments in addition to offering them futuristic insights about the market landscape.
The report highlights interesting aspects of the aviation industry in the GCC and statistics about the performance of the GCC airports and airlines in addition to providing predictions and projections about the growth levels in the region until the year 2020.
The report revealed that modern airport infrastructure in the region is encouraging hubbing operations between the East and the West. In the near future, airlines, airports, and air traffic controls in the Middle East will need to successfully serve more than four times the 120 million passengers served this year.
In 2015, Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi airports will have a combined annual capacity of 190 million passengers. Current capacity utilisation in the GCC (passengers/capacity) stands at over 115 per cent. Airbus predicts that, by 2028, the Middle East fleet will treble in size, while the Boeing forecasts that the Middle Eastern airlines will require 2,340 aircraft by 2029.
By 2020, Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad will have the capacity to carry nearly 200 million passengers: four times their current capacity.
The UAE has a total of 120,000 sq km of airspace, with 35 international air corridors - more than 50 per cent restricted to military use. To compensate for this shortage and the rapid growth of aircraft movements in the UAE airspace, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has heavily invested in adoption of new technologies to optimise use of available airspace capacity.
Aircraft movements in Dubai alone are expected to increase to 560,000 by 2020.
Overall aircraft movements in the UAE are expected to grow to 620,000 in 2012 and 663,000 by 2013, including local and foreign airlines, general aviation, private operators and freighters.
By 2020, over 98 million passengers and over four million tonnes of air freight will pass through Dubai airports. The expansion would see the aviation sector accounting for 22 per cent of Dubai’s total employment and 32 per cent of the emirate’s GDP by 2020.