It is “inevitable” that Dubai will have the busiest airport in the world, overtaking the top global hubs Atlanta and Beijing, and exceeding 100 million passengers a year.
The Airports Council International, the trade body, revealed on Monday its rankings for last year, putting Dubai International (DXB) in third place globally with 78 million passengers handled last year, up from sixth in 2014.
In response to the rise in the rankings, the chief executive of the emirate’s airports operator said yesterday that it was “difficult to project when exactly we will ascend to the No 1 spot for total [passenger] traffic, but we do believe it is inevitable”.
“Considering the fact that we do not have domestic traffic, leapfrogging London Heathrow, Chicago O’Hare and Haneda [in Japan] to take over the No 3 position for total traffic is an important milestone,” said Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports.
Atlanta in the United States handled more than 101 million passengers last year, while Beijing handled more than 89 million. Chicago, in fourth spot, handled more than 76 million, closely followed by Tokyo with 75 million and Heathrow with 74 million passengers.
Dubai International also retained its position as the world’s No 1 for international passenger volumes for the second year running.
Mr Griffiths said that Dubai Airports has invested heavily in providing the infrastructure needed to facilitate this growth.
In February, the Dh3 billion Concourse D opened, adding an extra 340,000 square metres of space at Dubai International and taking capacity up to 90 million passengers a year. Dubai Airports forecasts 85 million passengers this year.
Beyond that, however, it is unclear if capacity at Dubai International can keep up with projected demand.
“At current rates, Dubai International will almost certainly hit its full capacity before 2020. The question now becomes this: will the government of Dubai invest more in the current airport to handle extra passengers, or throw its entire budget and resources to [the second airport at] Dubai World Central?” said Saj Ahmad, the chief analyst at the UK’s StrategicAero Research.
Al Maktoum International at DWC can handle up to 5 million passengers a year and is targeted to reach an annual capacity of 26.5 million by next year.
Will Horton, the senior analyst at the Centre for Aviation (Capa) consultancy, said that because its major carrier Emirates has already moved freight operations to Al Maktoum and announced that flydubai, its sister budget airline, would move over there in the future, Dubai International has some additional capacity to play with if needed.
Still, the wider regional picture shows that passenger growth rates are levelling off, which could diminish some of the urgency on capacity for Dubai.
Yesterday, the International Air Travel Association (Iata) said that while passenger demand remained strong in the Middle East in February, “traffic growth has now lagged capacity growth for six consecutive months”.
And according to Capa, Dubai International’s share of “Gulf hub” traffic fell to 59 per cent in December from 70 per cent in 2003 as rivals such as Doha increased their activity and capacity.
“As might be expected in a growth market, at Dubai, the largest airport [in the region], growth rates are slowing as its traffic base level increases,” Capa said.
The more immediate challenge for all airport operators in the region, not just Dubai, said Capa, will not be how to scale up faster but instead “maintaining growth despite increasing taxes and fees”.
Last month, Dubai imposed a Dh35 fee per passenger on all flights, unless it is the same flight number for transfers, after June 30, to help to fund the emirate’s aviation infrastructure and support expansion.
“While the Dubai government would be richer by approximately US$447m in revenue, no doubt there will be a little trade-off in demand,” said Capa.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
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- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
