By Abdul Basit www.khaleejtimes.com
DUBAI — Al Maktoum International Airport will start business aviation operations in early 2013 while its commercial passenger facility will be opened later in the year, according to top government officials.
The new airport at Dubai World Central, or DWC, also expects more than 110 per cent growth in cargo this year in terms of volume.
Dubai joined an elite group of two-airport cities when commercial cargo flights of Rus Aviation, Skyline and Aerospace Consortium landed on June 27, 2010 at DWC’s Al Maktoum.
Rashed Bu Qara’a, chief operating officer of the Dubai Aviation City Corporation, or DACC, on Tuesday announced the commencement of business aviation operations. This is part of the long-term migration strategy of shifting general aviation from Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum, Bu Qara’a added.
“During this initial phase, we will utilise the VIP terminal within the passenger terminal. Shortly thereafter, we expect the first business aviation operations to commence out of DWC’s Aviation District in middle of 2013,” he said. Dubai’s second international air hub Al Maktoum is designed to be the world’s largest airport when it is fully completed. It will have five runways, four terminal buildings and capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo.
Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of the DACC, said the decision to commence commercial passenger operations from Al Maktoum will be announced soon. More info
