The UAE's aviation sector continued to grow last month with an average of 1,888 flights aircraft flights taking place each day, reaching a two year high, the federal General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said in its latest report.
The movements represent an increase of 6.9 per cent compared with the same period one year before. In total, there were 56,654 take-offs, landings and overflights in the UAE, underscoring the country's status as having one of the busiest airspaces in the region.
The growth is largely due to the rise of the UAE's long-haul and budget airlines, and complicated by the fact that more than half of the country's airspace is restricted to commercial traffic by the military.
The GCAA's report shows that Dubai was the largest source of air traffic, with 25,363 movements. The second largest contributor were foreign airlines performing over-flights, at 11,938 flights. Abu Dhabi ranked third, with 8,293 movements.
Traffic in and out of Sharjah, Al Ain, Ras al Khaimah, and Fujairah, as well as traffic between local airports, made up the rest of the activity.
The newest airport in the UAE, Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, was home to 133 air cargo flights, the report said.
In terms of safety, it said the agency issued eight infrastructure safety violation tickets, and conducted 28 inspections and audits with operators.
The UAE is taking on greater role in global aviation bodies, the GCAA said, with Capt Aysha al Hamili, the UAE's permanent representative to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council, recently elected as vice chairman of the council for next year and 2011.
The election of Capt al Hamili "highlights the active role played by the UAE in specialised technical committees, efforts aimed at strengthening ties in the field of civil aviation between the UAE and many countries and successful representation of Arab interests at ICAO," said Saif Mohammad al Suwaidi, the director general of the GCAA.
igale@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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