Airports around the world are competing to become regional hubs by improving infrastructure and facilities, such as quick check-ins and attractive retail facilities, in order to tap into the annual increase in air traffic and passengers.
One ambitious airport is Dubai Airport, which is aiming to become the world’s biggest and best airport by continuously improving its status as a favorite hub for airlines and passengers.
Dubai Airport CEO Paul Griffiths said that during his three-year tenure, the airport has upgraded its ranking from eighth to third largest.
“If we continue doing [what we’re doing] I believe we will be able to reach that [goal],” the told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the 66th Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport on Monday.
“We have been very aggressive in terms of growth with 18.9 percent increase in the number of passengers and 24.6 percent raise in cargo in only four months.”
Dubai Airport expects to see 60 million passengers per year from its current 42 million. With aggressive expansion, the airport management believes it will be able to accommodate up to 90 million people before the end of the decade.
Previous reports said the Dubai government has poured US$4.1 billion into the airport expansion plan, which is designed to turn the airport into a user-friendly and efficient hub. The expansion includes the construction of Terminal 3, Concourse 2 and Concourse 3 all dedicated for Emirates airline and a huge cargo terminal.
“Since Emirates Airline operates Airbus A380s, we must dedicate a special terminal for the airlines where dual level boarding is possible,” Griffiths said.
Emirates Airlines currently owns 10 A380s from its total order of 58 aircraft. Each A380, with its lowest price tag at $340 million, can accommodate between 450 and 800 passengers, depending on seating plans of airlines.
At present, 120 airlines, including Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, use Dubai Airport as a hub. Garuda stops over in Dubai for its recently reinstated Jakarta-Amsterdam daily route.
“Based on our data, last year 23,000 Indonesian tourists went to Dubai, while around 70,000 tourists from the Middle East visited Indonesia through Dubai. What makes it interesting, is that from the 70,000 Middle Easterns, only 3,000 were from the United Arab Emirates, the rest was from the region,” Griffiths said.
Garuda Indonesia vice president of communications Pujobroto said market demand was the main consideration for choosing Dubai instead of other hubs.
“We’ve seen a growing number of Indonesian passengers going to Dubai, and vice versa, and we also see there is the market from Dubai to Europe through Amsterdam,” he said.
“We will still maintain the Dubai route based on demand even once the ordered Boeing 777 arrive next year to serve our Jakarta-Amsterdam route [direct]”.
In addition to Amsterdam, Garuda plans to add direct legs to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome as an incentive to its business passengers to cut short flight time.
The second step in Dubai Airport’s massive expansion plan is to improve its existing terminal facilities while its third phase is to get the new airport — Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International, located about 35 kilometers away from the present airport — ready for passenger and cargo traffic.
Once completed, it will be the world’s largest passenger and cargo hub. It will be able to service 120 million passengers and more than 12 million tons of cargo per year.
