Call to review UAE airspace as capacity grows

An urgent review of airspace in the UAE is needed to safely allow for the planned capacity boom in the civil aviation sector, a vice president of Emirates Airline warned on Tuesday.

Changes to flight routes or airspace had to be made as part of a wider review of airspace across the GCC, said Bob Everest, vice president, flight operations support, at Emirates.

Cooperation was also needed with the UAE military, which controls around 50 percent of airspace in the Gulf state, to ensure a flexible use of air corridors, he added.

“It’s a little like when you throw a stone into a pond - you get the ripple effect,” said Everest, on the sidelines of the Future Airports Conference in Dubai on Tuesday.

“Safety is a premium concern but it (a review) is also to allow for the capacity growth of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the other emirates and the UAE in general.

“If we want to bring in passengers, tourism and money to the economy it’s quite important that the airplanes that are carrying those passengers have the ability to fly safely and efficiently.

“A large part of the airspace is controlled by the military and we need to have a flexible use of that airspace.”

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in the UAE was in the process of setting up an airspace advisory committee to look at the issues, Everest revealed.

“We also have to have a regional approach where you get Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and those countries involved as changes we make to some of the routes or some of the airspace will impact them as the traffic generates out from the UAE,” he added.

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), a body representing air traffic service providers, was looking at establishing a regional airspace working group, he said.

Seven airports were positioned within 175 nautical miles of Dubai International Airport, he said.

The UAE has six airports in operation, one is under construction in Dubai while one is planned in Ajman.

Dubai International Airport last year opened a new terminal and concourse for Emirates giving the hub an increased capacity of 60 million passengers a year.

Meanwhile, Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, which will eventually have capacity for 160 million passengers, will open in June 2010.

Abu Dhabi International Airport is planning to eventually expand its capacity to 40 million passengers a year with the opening of a major new passenger terminal.

Everest said lack of airspace could lead to air operators burning more aviation fuel through delays both on the ground and in the air.

“We (Emirates) lobby quite hard on this issue and we talk to the airports and the GCCA and the Air Traffic Control Centre in Abu Dhabi.”

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