Dubai ‘to be world’s biggest air hub by 2018’

Monday, 28 May 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dubai’s advanced infrastructure and high-level of connectivity should help the emirate edge the competition as it steps up its bid to become the world’s largest international air hub by 2018, said a top aviation official.

“Dubai Airport’s ‘SP2020’ plan will enable capacity at Dubai International to rise from 60 million to 90 million passengers by 2018,” said Tim Clark, the president of Emirates Airline in an interview to global publishing, research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG).

“The paramount advantage that Dubai must continue to leverage is its superior infrastructure,” he stated.

Clark said he was confident the airport could be adapted to accommodate the increased number of airliners that Emirates planned to bring in over the coming years.

He said the government’s efforts to ensure transport networks were well co-ordinated and would give the emirate an advantage over its rivals, even though the number of countries looking for a share of the global markets was rising.

“Not only have leaders successfully developed a highly efficient road network, a state-of-the-art port operation and a hugely successful airport, but they have also ensured a level of connectivity between each of these entities that is unrivalled anywhere in the world,” he added.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths agreed that Dubai’s ambitious expansion programme should pave the way for the emirate to increase its market share of passenger and cargo transhipment. But he also stressed the criticality of safeguarding service in the face of growing competition.