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AIRBUS 380: The double decker aircraft can be easily accommodated at the new and emerging mega airports.

Singh sees no logic in bringing people airside if there is no ground support in place and the same can be argued for human capital resources. Singh served in the Airports Authority of India and was director of the capital airport, Indira Gandhi International from (date).

He admits India was taken by surprise when the rapid rate in passenger growth crippled the existing infrastructure.

"We should have looked harder into the crystal ball but of course this is very hard to do. We were very happy for seven years with a growth rate of 5% per annum, which was in line with the global average, then suddenly it went up to 24% in airports like Bangalore and Delhi and we suffered an air traffic control staffing crisis."

Fortunately, the government of the United Arab Emirates has not lost sight of potential staff shortages in the region's airports, and courses such as airport and logistics management are provided by DAE University. Singh is professor of airport development at the university.

"Staffing of Al Maktoum International will not be an issue as students will be ready to fill the vacancies in three to four years time, but as I have learned from the situation in India, it is difficult to predict the future. While we pray that the growth continues, the facilities have to match it. In aviation we used to take a time scale of 15-20 years, now I think you should have a plan for 25 years and a rolling plan of five years."

But how realistic is it to ask airport managers to constantly review plans? With such huge sums of money involved in airport development, switching strategies could send costs spiralling.

Singh is quick to clarify his viewpoint. "Of course you cannot review the entire airport plan. Today's airports are like cities and this is where the concept of an ‘aerotropolis' comes in. DWC is not just an airport, it is a city within itself and it will grow in phases. While this growth is happening you can take stock of what is needed and prioritise."

So why have airport projects of yesteryear suffered such imbalances in growth? Singh admits that on many levels different components of the industry are not working together.

"Airports, airlines and aircraft manufacturers all work towards different business models, but these should be unified."

Singh draws on the introduction of the A380 as an example. "As an airport operator I welcome large aircraft but I would worry how to efficiently manage that number of passengers. I would rather have a one deck aircraft arriving every hour as opposed to a double deck aircraft arriving every two hours, offloading its passengers in one go. An airport has to double the number of facilities in order to cope and with what gain? Large aircraft require less frequency, so essentially the purpose of them is defeated."

It is the passenger that Singh places at the heart of the aviation industry and he worries that because of new large aircraft (NLA) and the emerging airport city, passengers are beginning to lose their identity.

"Passengers should be the focus of the entire operation. They are the bread and butter of the industry. If passengers are rebuked and ignored then this is where problems occur."

"I would suggest bringing back profiling. In many countries passengers are treated as a potential security threat and this is wrong. The aviation industry often responds with knee-jerk reactions. Instead, we should adopt a very judicious approach towards things and avoid jumping to conclusions."

So if Al Maktoum International should be the pinnacle of airport development how does Singh see airport development moving forward?

"If there is a justified reason to develop bigger airports and aircraft than DWC and the A380 then so be it, but let's not just continue in this way for the sake of being labeled the biggest. Emphasis should be placed on becoming the best and there comes a point when we should start perfecting what we already have."

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