Dubai International Airport is working to increase capacity to help accommodate more of the Airbus SAS A380 super-jumbo for Emirates Airline, the largest operator of the double-decker jet, the airline's chairman has said.
The expansion may help the hub become the word's busiest airport by next year, the Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said yesterday.
"We are going according to plan to accommodate all A380s," he said in Dubai. "Hopefully within one year from now we would be number one."
Dubai International boosted traffic to about 57.7 million passengers in 2012, putting it on a path to match London Heathrow by the end of 2013. The airport opened a concourse this year dedicated specifically to the A380 double decker, of which Emirates has ordered 90 units in total.
To fund delivery of aircraft in the financial year starting April 2014, Emirates has said it would need US$4.5 billion, and may consider issuing bonds or sukuk as one option to raise some of that money, depending on the market conditions.
"Whenever the market is good, when we need to go to the market we will go," Sheikh Ahmed said. "It's not desperate times, but if it's the right time, why not?"
Emirates, which introduced an executive jet service last month with an Airbus A319, will decide after a year if it needs more aircraft for this segment of the business, he said, calling it an "experiment programme" for the carrier.
Sheikh Ahmed said that the Boeing 777X is an "excellent aircraft, though given that it may only come as late as 2020, Emirates ''always leave the door open for both options: Airbus and Boeing''.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
