UAE airports traffic may reach 80 million in 2012: CAPA
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With each of UAE’s three largest airports achieving double digit growth, total passenger traffic in the country may hit 80 million this year for first time, according to a new report by CAPA-Centre for Aviation.
Over the first nine months of this year, the three largest airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah have handled a combined 59 million passengers, the report noted. “If their current growth rates continue over the last quarter of the year, combined traffic may just reach 80 million,” CAPA said.
Airport traffic in the UAE has doubled over the past five years, and with Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport set to begin passenger operations in the second half of next year, traffic figures are forecast to double again by 2020, reaching more than 150 million per year.
By contrast, Dubai’s two airports alone will add a combined capacity for another 20 million passengers next year, including the Emirates-dedicated Concourse 3 at Dubai International Airport, the report noted. Capacity for another 90 million passengers will be added in Dubai over the next decade, the report noted. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi is aiming to boost capacity for another 27-30 million passengers per year by 2017 with the development of the new Midfield Terminal Complex. The terminal will ultimately have capacity for 50 million passengers per year. Sharjah International Airport’s traffic is up by more than 700,000 passengers compared to the same period last year, with just a 3.9% increase in aircraft movements.