Ali Alnaqbi, founder and executive chairman of the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), discusses opportunities in the region.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark expects to the new and expanded Dubai World Central Al Makhtoum Airport (DWC) to be operational between 2032 and 2034.
Emirates plans to reveal further orders taking fleet plans into the 2030s, but new players like Riyadh Air and a revived Indian aviation sector are emerging.
VPorts has begun the certification process for the vertiports at its planned advanced air mobility integrator center in the Dubai South development zone.
The Kenyan cargo airline is eying new intra-Africa opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area and the potential for expansion in China.
The Qatar-UAE flights will be the first scheduled nonstop routes since mid-2017. Additionally, Qatar’s flag-carrier has signed an expanded codeshare deal with Iberia.
Flights to Amman, Beirut, Chittagong, Doha, Kathmandu, Kuwait and Muscat will become available from DWC from October 25, 2015, while flights to these destinations from Dubai International will also remain available.
Dubai International (DXB) has established itself as one of the world’s preferred passenger and cargo hubs linking east and west offering connections for passengers to virtually every corner of the world, while Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC), Dubai’s airport of the future, complements this offering with its compact, efficient passenger terminal and bustling cargo business.
The airline will operate the route twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays to Dubai World Central Airport, where it became the first airline to operate flights to the UAE airport.
Airspace in the Middle East must have the flexibility to deal with the region’s rapid aviation growth, a subject that was highlighted in the Strategy Summit on the opening day of the inaugural Routes Middle East & Africa forum in Bahrain.