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DUBAI: Air traffic movements at Dubai International Airport rose by 25 percent last year, while traffic doubled to and from Al-Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, southwest of Dubai.
The growth followed the restructuring of airspace in the UAE, according to Dubai Air Navigation Services.
The airspace restructuring project improved airline operations, paving the way for cost savings of 53 million dirhams ($14.5 million) during the year for carriers flying from Dubai International Airport.
Mohammed A. Ahli, CEO of Dubai Air Navigation Services, said that 60 million dirhams was invested in the three projects
in 2017.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, president of Dubai Air Navigation Services and the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, described 2017 as “an exceptional and groundbreaking year.” As well as highlighting the impact of the airspace restructuring project, he cited setting up of a Contingency Approach Control Room (CACR), ensuring that air traffic flows smoothly, and the opening of the Dubai Academy for Air Traffic Management as three key projects.
“Dubai Air Navigation Services has a central role in enabling the aviation sector to be one of the major contributors to Dubai’s GDP, which currently stands at 28 percent, and is forecast to increase to 35 percent by 2020,” he said.
“The organization has been able to play this transformational role through multiple facets, providing employment as well as training and development opportunities, in addition to flawlessly managing thousands of air traffic movements across Dubai’s airspace on an annual basis, and the implementation of the latest cutting edge and innovative technology in efforts to cater to the continuous growth in air traffic capacity throughout our airports.”
Air traffic control officers managed more than 500,000 movements of civilian and military aircraft during 2017. This figure is expected to exceed 600,000 a year by 2020, according to the Dubai Air Navigation Services.
Air traffic at Dubai’s International Airport rose by a quarter last year. (AFP)