Major expansion plans for Fujairah airport will see the runway upgraded to handle planes as large as an A380, as the emirate sets its sights on welcoming more visitors to the east coast.
The tendering process is complete, construction firms are to be announced soon and all works are scheduled to be finished by 2020, officials said.
The plans include a new control tower in the style of a falcon, runway upgrades to handle wider and heavier planes, and a parallel taxiway where aircraft can queue up.
The work is being funded by the Federal Government in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Airports company and is part of Sheikh Hamad Al Sharqi, the Ruler of Fujairah’s development plans for the strategically important emirate.
Fujairah is the only emirate fronting the Indian Ocean, the main port is being developed and an oil pipeline from Abu Dhabi is also in operation.
"It is an exciting time to be at Fujairah International Airport," Charles Hajdu, the acting general manager of the airport told The National during a tour of the airport.
"The airport expansion will begin a new era," he says bringing in. [It will bring] improved efficiencies of airport operations as well as opening the potential for new opportunities for business development."
Most planes at Fujairah take off and land towards the coast. The proposed second runway will realign movement plan will reposition the runway away from the mountains meaning planes can more easily approach land and take off from both directions. The 3,750-metre long runway will also be widened from 46m to 60m as an extra measure to , a proportion which can accommodate the world's largest passenger plane - Airbus A380s - as a scheduled service. Currently A380s can only land at Fujairah if it needs to be diverted.
The new control tower will be taller and will have has a falcon design. The parallel taxiway will allow aircraft to quickly enter and exit the runway, boosting efficiency. It can also function as an emergency runway as it's envisaged the original runway will need to be resurfaced.
In 1992, Fujairah had 1,000 passengers a day. But numbers declined after that and, by a 2012 article in The National, Fujairah was described as an airport in waiting.
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Six years on, the runways, check-in desks and e-gates are still quiet when compared with the hubs at Abu Dhabi and Dubai. A terminal building that can accommodate two million passengers a year only deals with an average of 35,000.
But Mr Hajdu said that figure is rising. One of the factors hampering growth is the lack of a scheduled passenger service or base airline but about 50 charter tourist flights currently arrive every year. On Tuesday, an Enter Air tourist charter arrived from Poland.
“This is an increasing trend. We are aiming to quadruple these numbers over the next five years,” said Mr Hajdu.
It is true that the Al Aqah area is expanding. A new Intercontinental hotel is the latest to open on the resort strip. According to the official Fujairah statistical yearbook, there were 764,734 hotel guests in 2016, up from 707,436 in 2014.
“We support the efforts of the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority, both with inbound agencies on fact-finding missions and with our presence at international exhibitions such as World Travel Market,” said Mr Hajdu.
Fujairah airport, meanwhile, is used for flight instruction, a place for diversions because it is not affected much by fog and for cargo aircraft maintenance. But the majority of flights at Fujairah are cargo. There are up to ten commercial flight movements a day and the largest plane to have landed at Fujairah was the Antonov 124 – a freighter which is still the largest military transport aircraft in the world.
A lot of the cargo comes by road from Jebel Ali and flown out to Africa on aircraft such as Russian Ilyushins that are suitable for landing at more remote airfields not serviced by the likes of Emirates. Most of the cargo is export but an increasing trend is the import of live animals during Ramadan.
Other developments at Fujairah include the removal of some of the older Soviet era-planes abandoned at the airport over the past few years, making space for new aircraft hangars and parking facilities. Hawker Pacific have also established a facility there for maintenance of helicopters.
The news has also been welcomed by international aviation experts. Alan Peaford, editor of Arabian Aerospace, said Fujairah has great potential.
“Despite the number of major airports already established in the UAE, there is still a need for development of secondary or alternate airports,” he said. “These need to have the same high standard infrastructure and safety standards as the majors. This work … makes that happen.”
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
