The planned new international airport at Ajman in the United Arab Emirates is to join the 30-airport PlaneStation network of regional airports.
It will be one of as many as 11 Middle East airports in the network aimed at bypassing congestion at established airports.
The concept is to develop former military airports and under-used facilities as an alternative to crowded existing airports. Four redeveloped airports are operational - in Italy, southern Germany, Denmark and Kent in south-eastern England. Others are coming on line in northern Germany and the Czech Republic.
By the end of the year, the PlaneStation network will have 20 members, including Aqaba Airport Industrial Zone in Jordan.
Growth"Airports today are stretched to the limit because of rapid passenger and cargo traffic growth, and building new ones is expensive and time-consuming," said Awni Abu-Taha, vice president for the Middle East and China of Wiggins Group, the firm behind the PlaneStation concept.
Source: Flight Daily News
