By Deena Kamel Yousef http://www.bloomberg.com
Dubai International airport, which is being expanded to handle 90 million passengers a year, could be shut in coming decades to focus traffic on a new super-hub under construction with as much as twice that capacity.
Dubai Airports won’t retain the existing base if owning two hubs hampers the take up of flights at its new Al Maktoum site, and could find “alternative purposes” for the prime real estate, Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths said in an interview.
The airport authority is evaluating plans to accelerate construction of Al Maktoum and make room for top client Emirates to move in before 2025, and could lift capacity to 200 million travelers a year to boost its appeal, Griffiths said. Discount carriers Jazeera Airways of Kuwait and Wizz Air Ltd. of Hungary have agreed to use the facility, which opens Oct. 27, and talks are ongoing with at least two more possible users, he said. More info
