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Al Maktoum International Airport will open a cargo terminal on June 27th, with an initial capacity of 250,000 tons a year. The cargo terminal’s capacity will later increase to 600,000 tons a year. The emirate is spending $33 billion (Dh121.37bn) on Al the airport because its current hub will probably not be able to handle increasing demand. The new airport will eventually have five runways and four passenger…
Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport increased 22.6 percent to 3.5 million in February, up from 3.1 million passengers for the same month last year. The growth in passenger numbers was driven by an increase in capacity through Western Europe, India, and the Middle East routes. Dubai Airports said in a statement the increase is due to a “strong ramp up of capacity” in these three regions by different…
March 22- The Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has invited companies to participate in bids for the construction of the country's first privately-owned airport in Madina. "Tenders, which are scheduled to be floated in May, will be received until the end of October this year and the final contract will be awarded to the successful bidder most probably by December 2010," said a source at…
March 22-Operations at the Bahrain International Airport continued to run smoothly despite heavy passenger traffic because of the Formula One event, it was reported on Sunday. This has been attributed to the cooperation of Bahrain Airport Company's partners including the Civil Aviation Affairs, Bahrain Airport Services and Ministry of Interior. "We created four committees – cargo, transportation, airside…
March 22- Passenger traffic at the Abu Dhabi Airport increased by 17.2 per cent in February, according to the monthly traffic report released by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC). Aircraft movements went up by 13.3 per cent and cargo tonnage by 17.6 per cent as compared to February 2009. The year-to-date figures for the first two months of the year showed an increase of 14 per cent. The most of number of…
March 21- Jordan and the European Union have signed an agreement that will enable the creation of a common aviation area for both parties, said the Arab Air Carriers Organisation. The agreement will allow air carriers of both sides to provide air services from any points in Europe, Jordan and other EU Mediterranean partners without any restrictions regarding the fares and capacities.
March 19- Kenya has suspended a $350 million deal with the Qatari firm, Afro-Asian Investment, to construct a five-star hotel, hospital and a conference centre at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, said an official on Thursday. The deal between Afro-Asian Investment and Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) was signed in January 2009 which allowed the leasing of a 90-acre piece of land around the…
March 19- Dubai International Airport has been ranked the 15th busiest airport in the world in 2009 for passenger numbers while it ranked fifth for cargo traffic, said a report released by the Airports Council International. Around 40.9 million passengers used Dubai's airport in 2009, a growth of 9.2 per cent as compared to the previous year. The figures showed that Dubai was one of only four of the world’s 20…
March 18- A British company has announced plans to build a multi-million dollar facility for luxury travel at Sharjah International Airport. The airport has a reputation as a center for budget flights and air cargo, so the new facility would be an upgrade and could someday challenge Dubai International Airport’s dominance as a center for executive jet travel. GAMA Aviation said it will invest US$15 million…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will issue an airport tender for KSA’s first privately-owned airport in Medina in May, it was learnt on Wednesday. The winner will operate the airport, which will have a capacity of eight million passengers a year, for not less than 25 years, Alaa Samman, General Manger of Business Development for Domestic Airports at GACA told reporters.
March 15- Dubai International Airport continues to lead the increase in air traffic movements in the UAE, according to the latest monthly report by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Total aircraft movements recorded in all of the airports in the UAE reached 47,800 last month, 12.7 percent higher than the 42,400 movements recorded for the same month in 2009. Dubai Airport had the highest number of…
March 14- Bahrain’s Dilmun Lounge was voted the best airport lounge in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) in a survey of more than 30,000 passengers from all over the world. Priority Pass, the independent airport lounge program, conducted the survey. Priority Pass gives frequent travelers access to airport lounges regardless of their class of travel or airline. Passengers were asked to pick their favorite…
The Abu Dhabi International Airport has been ranked as the best in eight customer services categories by the Airports Council International’s (ACI) ASQ results for the Middle East. In this regard, the airport has been awarded the ‘Best Improvement’ award by the council. “Naturally, we thank our customers and passengers for affording us these ratings; they clearly vindicate the hard-work of all our staff…
A government official said the expansion of Oman’s main airport is being delayed two years because runway excavations hit seawater. The delay will cost the state up to $500 million (Dh 1.83 billion). He said “The Muscat extension will now be completed in 2014, not in 2012 as expected due to soft ground which contractors came across in some places.” This is the second time expansion plans at the seaside Muscat…
A senior airport official said Oman plans to award a dozen contracts worth billions of dollars this year to build and upgrade the nation’s airports in order to increase trade and tourism. The government will build four airports, in Duqm, Adam, Sohar, and Ras al Hadd, and upgrade facilities n Salaleh and Muscat. George Bellew, chief executive of Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), said Oman’s airport plans…
Saudi Arabia is going to launch tenders over $4.5 billion to modernise airports in the kingdom, it was learnt on Monday. This, said Alaa Samman, Director of Business Development at the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), is because about 30 million passengers arrive at Saudi airports every year and this figure is expected to go up by 60 million this year. Thus, the airports must be expanded and modernised…
Work on the , said to be the world’s largest airport, in Dubai continues in order to finish it in time for its June 27 opening. Being constructed at a cost of $33 billion and located in Jebel Ali, Al Maktoum International is situated some 40kms away from Dubai International Airport. “The airport would be opening for freight operations initially and passenger operations will commence in the future. It is coming…
March 4: Kuwait will sign an expansion deal for its international airport today. The deal, which includes the development of new terminals, will equip the airport to deal with 13 million passengers a year. Dr Fadhel Safar, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, will sign the agreement today. Currently, the is at full capacity dealing with about seven million passengers a year.…
