Page 260 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/21/24, 10:49 AM Middle East airports expanding in a fast-forward mode to handle zooming passenger numbers : GoDubai.com
(DWTC), the Middle East's leading exhibition and convention venue, will have more than 150
exhibitors from more than 20 countries and 7,500 visitors from over 30 countries attending.
The Airport Show will have co-located events - ATC Forum, Airport Security Middle East, and
the 11th edition of the Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF).

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation
Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and
Group, and Patron of Airport Show said: “The business event will provide the industry
professionals from Middle East, South Asia, and Africa region, the opportunity to see
innovations in airport sustainability, digitalization, and urban air mobility.”
He added: “Airport Show will remain the best venue to select and source the cutting-edge
technologies and newest innovative products to better the airport operations.”
Organized by RX, part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision
tools that organizes about 400 events in 22 countries across 42 industry sectors, the show is
supported by prominent players in the aviation industry, including the Dubai Civil Aviation
Authority (DCAA), Dubai Airports, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), and dnata.

Remarked May Ismail, Event Manager at RX: “The airport industry will be back to full
business when we meet in 2024. The pace of growth and expansion that was halted is back
at a phenomenal rate. The projects that took off again clearly suggest there is no end to
expansion and growth. What had been put on the back burner is now in the front.”
According to a CAPA report, 425 major construction projects were on at existing airports
worldwide, with US$450 billion in investments. There were 225 new airport projects and more
than 70 percent of the investment was in Asia Pacific. There were 1074 airport investors, of
which 258 were airport operators, groups or consortiums. About 68 percent of all projects
were based on terminals, either expansions or new developments. A report has disclosed that
the global airport construction market grew to US$1.14 trillion in 2023, and would reach
US$1.8 trillion by 2030.
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport for international travelers continuously
for nine years, is also building up the capacity and facilities to make the hub more impressive.
Now serving 250 destinations in 104 countries through 95 airlines, DXB has mega expansion
plans that will entail investments of up to US$2. 7 billion. The enhancements in capacity and
service levels over the coming 10 years have been necessitated as its home base carriers
ordered another 120 aircraft - 90 Boeing-777s for Emirates and 30 Boeing-787s for flydubai.
Sharjah, home to the Arabian Gulf's first airport, has started work on an AED1.2 billion
(US$327 million) terminal expansion that will increase the airport's capacity to 20 million
passengers a year. The expansion project will separate the arrivals from departures areas
and enhance its systems and amenities. It is the largest phase of expansion work being
undertaken at a total cost of AED2.4 billion and is expected to be completed in 2027.
Improvements will include additional self-check-in kiosks, electronic boarding gates, a
spacious waiting zone, dining facilities, and a transit passenger hotel. Sharjah Airport, home
of the MENA region's largest LCC Air Arabia, added six new passenger destinations and three
air cargo routes in 2023. The airport handled about 13.1 million passengers in 2022 and will
be able to handle up to 25 million passengers by 2026.
A plan is underway to transform King Abdelaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Saudi Arabia
into one of the world's largest airports with an SR115 billion expansion plan that will increase
its capacity to 114 million passengers a year. The largest components of the plan cover the
design and expansion of Terminal 1 and the construction of a new passenger terminal to be
called Terminal 2. The expected completion date for the expansion project is 2031.
A new Hajj and Umrah terminal at the airport in Jeddah will handle 15 million passengers a
year and is expected to be completed by 2025. The airport aims to accommodate up to 120
million passengers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050. For cargo, the goal is to process 3.5
million tons a year.
Another major airport is planned for Neom, close to the Tabuk end of the 170-kilometre-long
Line development. Neom International Airport's first phase will have the capacity to handle 25
million passengers a year. A second phase could take the capacity up to 50 million
passengers a year. There is an aspiration for the airport to become the largest in the world,
with a capacity of 100 million passengers a year. Abha International Airport will undergo a
makeover that will see its terminal grow from 113,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet.
The existing airport can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The new one will be capable
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