Dubai's airport authorities are open to having a non-home airline as the anchor carrier in the city's new Al-Maktoum International airport.
"It does not have to be on of our home-grown carriers," says Anita Mehra Homayoun, vice-president for marketing at Dubai International Airport. "It could be an Asian or European airline that feels that Dubai will be a good base to be in, and we will welcome that."
She points out that Dubai is an ideal location as two thirds of the world's population are within an eight-hour flight and one third are within four hours of the city. This makes it attractive for carriers that are keen to operate from Dubai to other parts of the world.
While no airlines have signed up to operate from that Al-Maktoum International, which is located at the port city of Jebel Ali, she is confident that this will happen in the next few months.
"We are offering plenty of incentives to the airlines. This is an ideal airport for point-to-point services to places like the Middle East, North and East Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the CIS," says Homayoun.
"While we do not expect many of the legacy carriers to move immediately, given that the connectivity will not initially be there, we expect that to change from 2013 and 2014, when we are confident that several of them will operate out of this airport."
She adds that despite the economic crisis, Al-Maktoum is on schedule to open its doors in June 2010 with an annual passenger capacity of 5 million. It will gradually increase in size and eventually be able to handle 140 million passengers, most likely by 2020, making it the largest in the world.
This is because Dubai International Airport, the Emirate's main gateway, is fast approaching full capacity. The airport has three terminals and two concourses that can handle 60 million passengers, and has 125 airlines flying to 210 destinations. By 2013, the airport will have a third concourse that will bring its annual capacity to 75 million.
"The phenomenal growth of the Dubai tourism industry in general and the hospitality sector in particular proves its popularity as a preferred year-round business and leisure destination," says Homayoun.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
