FORMERLY known as Al Bateen airbase, this dedicated private jet airport has been renamed City Airport, Abu Dhabi as part of its overhaul.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) announced that this new identity for this first and only dedicated private jet airport in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), was in keeping with ADAC’s other airports and connected it to the brand of Abu Dhabi.
The shift in name from Al Bateen is designed to communicate the airport’s location 10 kilometre from the centre of Abu Dhabi and five kilometres southwest of the Abu Dhabi business district.
The airport is estimated to be a Dh5 billion asset to the emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADAC is investing more than Dh200 million in additional facilities at the airport, which is set to be developed as an exclusive corporate jet facility offering seven star services to all clients.
Stand capacity will grow from 50 to over 120 spaces, with specific areas in hangers for the maintenance of different sized aircraft. A new Instrument Landing System (ILS) will be upgraded and the latest global positioning system (GPS) technology will be installed. Options for an onsite hotel are also being considered.
The airport will also include a ‘one-stop shop’ business jet facility, VIP and main passenger terminals, 24 hour access, airport services, maintenance, repair and overhaul, fuel, handling and all other fixed base operational services.
HE Khalifa bin Mazrouei, chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports Company said, “Our plans for City Airport, Abu Dhabi will put it firmly at the centre of the incredible growth of business aviation services in the region. It is the first airport in the Middle East to be dedicated solely to business jets, part of the Abu Dhabi government’s strategy to develop the Emirate’s economy over the coming years and to take advantage of upcoming industry developments”.
The number of charter flights departing out of Abu Dhabi airport has increased 46 per cent year-on-year since 2004, and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has recently had applications from more than two dozen new firms for licences to fly out of the UAE.