Robust growth to slow in 2011 - Dubai Airports

Dubai Airports is expecting modest growth in 2011 despite double digit increases in air freight volumes this year.

Year to date volumes this year are up almost 22 percent at 1,888,619 tonnes. October recorded a 9.2 percent growth over last year, the UAE airports company said in a statement.

Dubai Airports expects cargo volumes to exceed 2.2 million tonnes in 2011, which will be an increase of 4.8 percent over this year's 2.1 million tonnes forecast.

This modest growth rate reflected a more stable cargo traffic environment following the double-digit expansion seen this year as the industry recovered from the 2009 economic downturn.

The forecast air freight traffic growth continues to be in line with Dubai Airports' projections for cargo volumes to exceed three million tonnes by 2015. Total aircraft movements are expected to grow by 12 percent in 2011 to reach 328,900 movements.

"Our vision to manage the world's top international airport is coming into focus," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

Dubai is ideally located four hours flying time from one-third of the world's population and 12 hours from 80 percent of the population. New aircraft types such as the A380 and B777 ER are effectively shrinking the globe and amplifying the attractiveness of Dubai's strategic location for international and regional operations.

"Dubai's aviation industry is thriving due to its liberal aviation policies, tax free environment, geo-centric location as well as its willingness to invest in top-flight infrastructure," said Griffiths.

"It is a formula that clearly works. Today we have more than 130 carriers serving 220 destinations on six continents and we are home to arguably the world's most profitable airline. The challenge going forward is to ensure we have ample capacity in place to accommodate traffic growth."
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)