Thriving aviation sector to contribute 32% to Dubai’s GDP by 2020

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman of Emirates Group, has said that completion of the runway refurbishment at Dubai International Airport will bring in a significant surge in air traffic. Speaking in a message published in the August edition of Via Dubai, the official bi-lingual newsletter of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed said, "Flight operations at the Dubai International Airport were fully on July 21st following the completion of the runway refurbishment as scheduled. We are confident the completion of the major runway refurbishment programme in our history and full schedule operations ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holidays will bring in a significant surge in air traffic." H.H. Sheikh Ahmed went on to say, "We are confident about the airport handling over 70 million passengers in 2014 which will bring us further closer to becoming the world’s number one airport for international passengers," he said.
He also added that the next project that will soon become a reality is a new concourse, Concourse D, which will be connected to an existing terminal by automated train and is due to open in the first quarter of next year. A trial run is planned to be conducted soon.
This fourth concourse is part of the US$7.8 billion expansion programme designed to boost the airport’s capacity to over 100 million passengers annually by 2020. The development of Al Maktoum International Airport with an eventual capacity of 160 million passengers is also progressing in phases.
"We are on the mark in terms of giving a big boost to the aviation industry which we anticipate will contribute 32 percent to Dubai’s GDP by 2020," he remarked.
Mohammed Abdulla Ahli, Director General of DCAA, said, "In today’s competitive and performance-driven business environment in both government and private sectors, having cutting-edge technology, aggressive marketing strategies and customer services is just not enough for an organisation to be successful. A good human resources management is one the most important elements in determining the success or failure of an organisation." In an exclusive interview with Via Dubai, Ahmed Hamad Al Hammadi, Head of the Dangerous Goods Section at Aviation Security and Accident Investigation Department, said that the DCAA is working on linking its online approval system for Dangerous Goods transportation with the State Security Department (SSD) and Dubai Police for faster and seamless sanction of applications for transportation of explosives and radioactive materials.
"We have issued 9,764 No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for Dangerous Goods transportation by both passenger and cargo airlines in 2013, up from 8146 NOCs, while 686 approvals were given for Firearms transportation last year as against 588 in the year 2012," he said.
In the first half of 2014, as many as 4344 and 346 NOCs were issued for the Dangerous Goods and Firearms, respectively. During the same period, about 189 applications for Dangerous Goods transportation were turned down. Last year, the department rejected 654 requests for Dangerous Goods transportation and eight for the Firearms for a variety of reasons, including non-compliance of international and local rules and regulations.
He added, "The compliance rate by the cargo industry is very high and we are working to improve this further through creating industry awareness about the latest in Dangerous Goods regulations and potential suspicious shipments." According to figures released by International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline industry handles 52 million tons of cargo a day globally.