DUBAI – Cargo volumes at Dubai World Central (DWC) have surged 382 per cent in the first three months of 2012, according to the quarterly traffic report issued by Dubai Airports on Wednesday.

The airport, now only in its second full year of operation, recorded a 382.2 per cent increase in cargo volumes to 50,062 tonnes in the first quarter of the year, compared to 10,381 tonnes in the first three months of 2011.

Air traffic movements at the airport also increased sharply, rising 313.3 per cent to 3,513 movements in the first three months of 2012 compared to 850 in the previous comparable period.

The growth was driven by additional charter and scheduled services introduced over the past year as well as the securing of several large non-commercial contracts. In March Saudi Airlines Cargo became the latest major airline to begin a scheduled freight service to DWC with three weekly flights from Riyadh, the Saudi capital. More info

The Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show will be staged for the first time at Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport later this year (December 11-13). Organizers say the new location at what is also known as Dubai World Central will allow plenty of space for growth at a show that in 2010 attracted 338 exhibitors, 55 aircraft and 6,200 trade visitors. This year, MEBA will feature new enclaves highlighting helicopters, business airports and VIP aircraft interiors.

This year's MEBA show is expected to grow by 10 percent over the 2010 edition, which attracted 338 exhibitors, 55 aircraft and 6,200 trade show visitors.

Arriving for this week’s EBACE show, MEBA organizer Fairs & Exhibitions (Stand 2341) announced that 60 percent of space for the 2012 event has been sold. “We are preparing for the fifth edition of MEBA to be the biggest yet, and given our new location we are excited about hosting the very first event at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport,” commented Michele Van Akelijen, aerospace director for F&E Aerospace.

“With such minimal travel times between popular hotel locations and our new venue, we foresee easy access for exhibitors and visitors alike, coming together at the region’s newest and biggest airport complex.”

Located close to the Jebel Ali port and industrial area, Al Maktoum International Airport is significantly further from the main city center area of Dubai than MEBA’s former site at Dubai International Airport.

However, it is conveniently located from popular hotel locations such as Jumeirah Beach (30 minutes drive) and Dubai Marina (25 minutes). It is also closer to Abu Dhabi, which is fast emerging as a hive of business aviation activity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). More info

Dubai Private jet operator ExecuJet Middle East is planning a move to Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International as early as next year but is waiting for the infrastructure at the new airport to be completed, according to the company’s top executive.

* Image Credit: Pankaj Sharma/Gulf News * An aircraft undergoes maintenance in an ExecuJet Aviation Group hangar at the Dubai Airport Free Zone. The company is working with the authorities to know when the infrastructure at Dubai World Central will be complete.

Dubai Airports launched general aviation operations at DWC in April last year with the first flight, but the airport operator is still waiting to begin passenger operations from DWC.

“We have been talking about it for a long time and we are actually reserving a plot or two over there [DWC], because we want to expand our capacity and we need to move out there from a maintenance point of view. So yes, it’s definitely on our cards,” Mike Berry, managing director for ExecuJet Middle East, said.

He was speaking Thursday on the sidelines of a conference to announce the company’s latest addition to its 20-aircraft fleet in the region — the new VIP 19-seat Embraer Lineage.

‘Biggest hindrance’

Asked how soon ExecuJet will be making the move to the new premises, he said the company was currently working with the authorities to know when the infrastructure will be complete. More info

*** About DMCC ***

Established in 2002 byRoyal Decree, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) is a strategic initiative of the Government of Dubai, with a mandate to enhance commodity trade flows through the Emirate by providing the appropriate physical, market, financial infrastructure and services required.

By offering a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework, modern infrastructure, freehold property, innovative products and cost efficient, value-added services, DMCC successfully attracts key participants throughout the entire value chain of a wide range of commodities sectors along with a range of businesses from shipping to recruitment, IT to advertising, and more.

DMCC is the master developer and licensing authority for the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) Free Zone, one of the largest mixed use free zone developments in Dubai.

Today, DMCC and the JLT Free Zone has registered over 4,000 companies, with 90% of new registrations coming from businesses that are new to Dubai, including multi-nationals, major regional industry participants as well as small/medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs.

DMCC has implemented a robust compliance and regulatory regime which is in line with the compliance related laws and regulations of the UAE Federal Government and the competent international bodies.

*** The JLT Free Zone ***

The fastest growing free zone development in the UAE, Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) is a 200-hectare, mixed-use waterfront master development facilitating both business and community living by offering commercial, residential and retail property for sale and lease.

Situated in the heart of New Dubai and serviced by two metro stations within the community, the JLT free zone is located on Sheikh Zayed Road, the main arterial connecting Dubai and Abu Dubai, and in close proximity to Jebel Ali Free Zone and ports, Al Maktoum International Airport, and Dubai Logistics Corridor.

Streamlined processes, dependable customer support, unique services and industry clustering, modern infrastructure, prime location, freehold commercial and residential property are some of the reasons why the the JLT free zone is your first choice for locating your business in Dubai.

DMCC registers and licenses companies, provides visa and other related government services and also supports new companies in obtaining services required to establish their businesses in Dubai.

Source:  www.youtube.com

Dubai: The Dubai government yesterday announced a law creating Dubai Corporation for Aviation Engineering Projects (DCAEP) that will help the emirate leverage its expertise in master-planning and developing world-class airports in and outside the country.

DWC Dubai

Law No 12 of 2012 was issued by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, setting up DCAEP which will be attached to Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the conglomerate created to develop the $30-billion (Dh110.19 billion) Dubai World Central.

The law gives the new corporation complete administrative and financial independence, according to the announcement released through WAM.

“All the rights, obligations, jurisdictions, and responsibilities of Dubai Aviation City Corporation will be transferred to the newly set up corporation. Employees of the Aviation City Corporation will be transferred to the new one while preserving their obtained rights,” the law stipulates. More info

Dubai’s major airport project, the US$34bn Al Maktoum International Airport, is likely to begin full commercial passenger services from 2027, the CEO of Dubai Airports has said.

Griffiths says the new airport has been pushed back ten years.

Part of the Dubai World Central (DWC) logistics complex, the new airport will replace Dubai International as the Middle East’s major aviation hub, and is scheduled to be the world’s largest airport by the time it opens.

“The original [plan] was to have some capacity online for 2017, we’ve pushed that back by about ten years… something around [2027],” Dubai Airports’ CEO Paul Griffiths told Arabian Business in an interview.

“The idea is to build a facility that’s large enough so that Emirates and other airlines could move, not necessarily at the same time, but within a fairly short timeframe.” More info

Dubai: Dubai will spend between $2 billion (Dh7.35 billion) and $4 billion on infrastructure if it manages to secure the bid for the 2020 World Expo, officials said yesterday.

* Image Credit: Gulf News Archives * The UAE pavilion at the World Expo held in Shanghai in 2010. That expo generated $2 billion in revenues for the host city. Dubai is competing with four other cities that have submitted bids for the event.

Having submitted the official bid to host the 2020 World Expo last November, the UAE yesterday launched the country’s campaign to host the international event in Dubai.

The World Expo is a global, non-commercial exposition. The hosting of it must be applied for by a country and approved by the World Expo committee. The Expo is inteded to promote exchanges of ideas and development of the world economy, culture, science and technology, to allow exhibitors to display their achievements and improve international relationships.

The global campaign is aimed to highlight the reasons for Dubai being the ideal choice to host this six-month event (January 4 to June 30, 2020), which takes place once every five years. The UAE bid is being led by the Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo.

Under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” the 2020 World Expo in Dubai will serve as a “global hub for ideas and a springboard for creativity”, according to Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo. More info

Saudi Airlines Cargo will commence twice-weekly Boeing 747 freight service to Saigon, on March 25, connecting the Vietnamese city to the Middle East and Frankfurt, Germany. Saudi Airlines Cargo Commercial Vice President Peter Scholten expects Saigon to be a key city for the Middle Eastern carrier.

“Saigon is an emerging market,” Scholten said in a statement. “With China becoming more expensive, production is increasingly being moved to Vietnam and other developing countries. This new service will enable us to expand our network into the region in response to changing market conditions.”

Vietnam isn’t the only nation Saudi Airlines Cargo is eying, however. The freight carrier will also launch thrice-weekly service to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central later this month. The route is part of Saudi’s global part charter initiative with DHL Global Forwarding and allows it to directly link Europe to the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Airlines Cargo will perform a Brussels-Dubai routing twice a week and fly from Amsterdam to Dubai once a week, according to a press release.

Ingo-Alexander Rahn, executive vice president of global airfreight and head of StarBroker at DHL, said the decision to collaborate with Saudi was strategic. “We chose to work with Saudi Airlines Cargo on this program because, in addition to the new orientation of [Saudi Arabian Airlines], we have found the right mix of commitment, flexibility and network capabilities,” he said in a statement. More info

Flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low cost airline, officially opened its new state-of-the-art training centre today, making it the only certified Boeing 737 facility in the UAE.

Flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, was joined by the Director General of Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ), Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, to cut the ribbon on the new centre, which has been approved by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The centre, located at DAFZ, not only allows flydubai to train its own cabin and flight deck crews, but to also conduct third party training to other airlines, including Global Jet, around the region.

Al Ghaith said: “Today is a very exciting day for flydubai. I am very proud of the efforts the team has made to create a training centre of this calibre. We have now had 30 batches of cabin crew graduate from our internal programme and I look forward to seeing more complete this world-leading training as well as welcoming other airlines to take advantage of the excellent training facilities we have here.”

The facility, which was built at a cost of more than AED 2 million, includes a fire and smoke training simulator plus four large classrooms and a dedicated computer-based training room. It is an expansion of the original training centre, which was opened in August 2010, and houses a 737 door trainer, emergency training slide, pilot training seat as well as four traditional classrooms.

Al Zarooni said: “Today’s opening not only highlights the excellent facility flydubai has built here at the Freezone, but also shows the flexibility of our facilities to cater for diverse business activities. I wish flydubai every success for its training centre and look forward to welcoming more crews to Dubai to train here.” More info

DUBAI – Passenger numbers through Dubai International Airport rose 14 per cent to over 4. 8 million year on year in January, helped by Emirates Airlines’ fast expansion, but cargo continued to suffer amid global uncertainty, falling 2.6 per cent in the same period.

Traffic through Dubai’s main airport, the fourth busiest in the world, hit 4.85 million in January, up 14 per cent versus the 4.25 million recorded in the same month a year ago, Dubai Airports, which owns and runs Dubai International, said in a statement Monday. The January figure surpassed the previous monthly record of 4.72 million in July 2011.

“The fantastic start to the year is partially due to the traffic surge caused by the holiday season, the recently concluded Dubai Shopping Festival and the on-going expansion of the hub network,” said Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths, adding that he expected total passenger traffic in 2012 to reach 56.5 million, up from 51 million last year.

Cargo volumes fared less well “reflecting on-going weaker global air freight demand and fragile consumer confidence” contracting 2.6 per cent to 173,531 tons last month compared to 178,199 tons in January 2011.