Page 285 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

2/21/24, 10:51 AM Middle East airports expected to expand as travel booms | Times Aerospace
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 ydubai.

Sharjah, home to the Arabian Gulf’s rst airport, has started work on a 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.
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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 rst 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

of handling 13 million by the time the rst phase of the development is completed in 2028.
The expansion will include the construction of passenger jetways, self-service facilities for
passenger check-in and baggage handling, and high-capacity parking facilities. Saudi Arabia is

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