At a time when Middle East air travel is growing at double the global average, the need for new airports – and especially low-cost, or secondary, airports – has never been greater, according to the Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa.
Pointing to the successful development of Sharjah Airport, the carrier’s primary hub, Adel Ali recently told an audience of high-level industry decision-makers that the region must invest in the development of secondary airports that will support increased activity in the LCC sector, which has expanded rapidly following the launch of Air Arabia in October 2003. Ali made these comments as part of a panel discussion on the regional outlook for low-cost terminals during the Future Airports Conference, which was held in Dubai from June 2-4, 2008.
“The Middle East as a whole, and especially the Gulf, is witnessing enormous economic growth, which has had a direct knock-on effect on regional air travel,” Ali said. “Currently, too many Middle East airports are underdeveloped or overly congested. As we move towards the full adoption of open-skies policies and with the highest number of aircraft on order anywhere in the world, the region must invest today in the infrastructure necessary to meet the demands of tomorrow.
“Pioneered by Air Arabia, the regional low-cost sector is growing at an especially dramatic pace, with more than 10 new LCCs introduced in the region in the past five years alone. Considering that this segment still represents just 2 per cent of total regional market share – compared to 25 per cent in more mature markets, such as North America – it is clear that the opening of new secondary airports is vital to ensuring that this growth can be sustained in the long term.
“Secondary airports are able to maintain costs that are on average 20 per cent below those of their peers, partly because of lower operating expenses associated with their location outside major metro areas. In North America, Europe and Asia, we have seen an ongoing expansion of such secondary airports, which not only help LCCs maintain low fares, but also support the economic development of the cities in which they are located.
“The ongoing expansion of Air Arabia and the consistent growth of Sharjah are clearly interlinked, with each supporting the other, and driving increased tourism revenues and other ancillary services,” Ali concluded. “There is today a signal opportunity to replicate this success story elsewhere in the region. We must collectively seize the moment to invest in our shared future.”
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