Category Archives: Aviation

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport (DXB) surpassed 43 million in the first half of 2017, according to the traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports. DXB handled a total of 43,054,268 passengers during the first half, up by 6.3 per cent from the corresponding period in 2016 when the airport welcomed 40,507,251 passengers. The traffic in June alone reached 6,084,674, up by 3.9 per cent from the 5,857,503 travellers that accessed the airport during the same month last year. The relatively modest growth was the outcome of the holy month of Ramadan falling in June, a traditionally slow month. The top country destination in terms of total passenger volumes at DXB in these six months was India with 5,943,359 Indian travellers, on its heels was Saudi Arabia with 3,108,492 travellers accessing the airport in H1. The maximum percentage growth in the number of travellers from a particular region was seen by South America, which had 36.4 per cent more of its travellers transiting at DXB in H1 of 2017. Top cities by passenger volumes include London (1,893,038 passengers), followed by Mumbai (1,205,504 passengers), then Bangkok (1,037,606 passengers) and thereafter New Delhi (1,016,183 passengers). While passenger traffic increased, flight movements at DXB saw a slight decrease in the first half of this year with a total of 205,996, against 207,970 recorded during the same period in 2016, a marginal contraction of 0.9 per cent.

Gulf Air recently hosted key travel industry representatives in Abu Dhabi at an event that showcased the airline’s latest developments and customer-focused initiatives. The event was hosted by Gulf Air’s Country Manager in Abu Dhabi, Madina Abdulla Albalushi. Most recently, Gulf Air launched passenger-oriented facilities like prepaid seat selection, excess baggage permit and lounge access, all aimed at making travel more comfortable for passengers while giving them greater control to manage various add-ons pre-travel. It also rolled out options for their travellers to know the flight status as well as do group bookings online. Amongst its most highly anticipated upcoming initiatives is the rolling out of its dedicated holiday unit ‘Gulf Air Holidays’, which would offer travellers a wide range of holiday packages and tailor-made travel solutions to destinations worldwide. The airline is also preparing to launch an online visa facility this summer that will support its longstanding efforts to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain as a destination to a broad spectrum of travellers, while making the process of obtaining a short-term-visit visa to Bahrain more convenient.

flydubai recently announced that it is going to add two new destinations, Voronezh and Makhachkala, and resume services to one more destination, Ufa, in its Russian network, bringing its presence in the country to ten points. Starting from October 29, 2017 for Voronezh and from October 31, 2017 for Makhachkala, flydubai’s services to both the new destinations added will operate twice a week from Dubai. Services to Ufa will also resume from October 31, 2017, with three flights a week. flydubai will be the only UAE-based carrier offering direct air links on these routes. Along with these new additions, flydubai’s network in Russia includes Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Yekaterinburg. Travel between Russia and Dubai recently received a push by the new changes in visa requirements, enabling Russian passengers to automatically receive a free 30-day Visa on Arrival in the UAE.

Sharjah Airport Authority has launched an awareness campaign to introduce their Smart Gates to travellers. The campaign, which will run till the end of August, aims to provide travellers with the required information to understand how to register and use the Smart Gates and will also highlight the importance of this facility for passengers to save time and enjoy a new travel experience. The Smart Gates, which were installed in collaboration with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Sharjah, have been highly praised since they were first rolled out in October 2016. The authority announced that over 850,000 passengers have passed through the 16 Smart Gates installed at the departure and arrival terminals in Sharjah International Airport until now. Travellers can now get through passport control within 20 seconds, reflecting the pioneering services provided by the authority as part of its continuous efforts to contribute to the development of the aviation sector in the UAE.

Turkish Airlines added Phuket as the 300th destination in their global network. The inaugural flight from Istanbul was welcomed by the customary water cannon salute in a formal ceremony at Phuket International Airport. Deputy Chairman and CEO of Turkish Airlines, Bilal Eksi, commented at the launch ceremony, “Turkish Airlines is excited to be bringing more value and connectivity to its passengers through its ever expanding network. As an award-winning airline that invites people to explore the beauties of our world, it was a natural choice for us to decide on Phuket as our next destination.” Introductory round trip fares for the Istanbul to Phuket flight, which has been launched on July 17, 2017, starts from $569 (including taxes and fees).  Direct flights from Istanbul to Phuket will be operated four times a week, on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. With Turkish Airlines launching flights to Phuket, Turkish Cargo has also launched freighter flights to the island.

HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS), announced the latest air traffic movement figures for the month of June, which reveals a total volume of 41,589 movements in Dubai and Northern Emirates’ airspace. According to the air traffic movement figures report released by Dubai Air Navigation Services, a total of 31,243 movements have been registered at Dubai International Airport (DXB), with 15,491 movements in arrivals and 15,515 in departures. In addition, the daily average during the month was 1041 movements and 237 helicopter movements. Furthermore, air traffic movement figures at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) registered a total of 2665 movements, including 921 movements in arrivals and 933 movements in departures. Air traffic movement reports also declared a daily average of 73 movements as well as 323 helicopter movements for the month at DWC, which reflects a significant increase of 14.1% in movements in comparison with the same month in 2016.

Philippine Airlines recently announced that it will resume its non-stop thrice weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Manila from October 31, 2017 so as to cope with the continuously increasing demand. In May 2017, the airline announced the suspension of its services on the route in order to pave way for route assessment initiatives. The suspended flights, PR656/657, will resume their services exactly like before. Operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, PR656 will leave from Manila at 11.45 am and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 5.45 pm and the return flight, PR657, will depart from Abu Dhabi at 7.30 pm and land in Manila at 8.50 am the next day.

Emirates will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Khartoum from five to seven a week starting 8 August 2017. The additional services will be realised by Boeing 777, offering customers a choice of cabins with 8 luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 304 seats with plenty of room to relax in Economy Class. Offering a total of over 700 additional seats each way per week, the two new flights will enhance connectivity between a number of popular cities in the Middle East, Asia and Americas, some of them being Kuwait, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, New York and Washington DC.

Passenger traffic grew by 3 per cent year on year at Sharjah International Airport during the last quarter, as the airport handled 2.75 million passengers during April, May and June, compared with 2.66 million during the same period of 2016. April saw the maximum increase, which was of 6 per cent. Aircraft movements at the airport also increased by 3 percent this quarter, with the total of scheduled and non-scheduled movements in Q2 2017 rising to 18,801, compared with 18,183 in Q2 2016. Of the different airlines playing a role in this rise, Air Arabia, the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has had a prominent role. It launched a number of new services from its Sharjah hub this year, including permanent services to Batumi in Georgia, Baku in Azarbajian, Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa and Sohar in Oman. The airline also launched a summer-special non-stop service to the Turkish port city of Trabzon.

Dubai-based airlines, Emirates and flydubai, unveiled an extensive partnership recently that says the two airlines have joined hands to offer customers unmatched travel options and facilities. Both airlines will continue to be managed independently but will leverage each other’s network to scale up their operations and accelerate growth. Emirates today has a wide-body fleet of 259 aircraft, flying to 157 destinations (including 16 cargo-only points). flydubai operates 58 new-generation Boeing 737 aircraft to 95 destinations. The current combined network comprises 216 unique destination points. This latest partnership includes not only code-sharing, but also integrated network collaboration with coordinated scheduling. The new model will give flydubai customers seamless connectivity to Emirates’ worldwide destinations spanning six continents. For Emirates’ customers, it opens up flydubai’s robust regional network. The two airlines will also further develop their hub at Dubai International, aligning their systems and operations to ensure a seamless travel experience through the ultra-modern airport.