The UAE aviation sector: international awards and ambitious investments that enhance leadership

2024/12/29 4:27:04 PM

3 minutes read

Abu Dhabi, December 29 / WAM / The UAE has strengthened its position as one of the most prominent global aviation centers during the year 2024, through a group of prominent developments that included more investments in infrastructure, enhancing clean energy initiatives, and increasing seat capacity at its main airports.

The sector’s performance reflects the UAE’s continued commitment to developing the aviation sector as a major driver of the national economy, through ambitious projects and prominent announcements that reflect its future vision, while Emirati carriers have fully restored their capacity and since last year have exceeded 2019 levels. During the current year, they have continued to enhance their capacity to reach 87.1 million. seat, exceeding last year’s levels by 10.5% and 2019 levels by about 15%.

OAG, the international organization that provides airport data around the world, revealed that the growth rate of seat capacity for Emirati carriers exceeded the global average growth rate of 2.4% compared to the year 2019, and 6.4% compared to the year 2023.

Last November, the General Authority of Civil Aviation expected that passenger traffic at the country’s airports would reach about 150 million passengers by the end of this year, compared to 134 million in the previous year.

The civil aviation network in the UAE serves more than 400,000 passengers daily, with a monthly rate exceeding 12 million passengers, and transports more than 10,000 tons of cargo daily.

National carriers, including Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Flydubai, and Air Arabia, continued to expand their networks around the world, and the seat capacity of the four carriers reached more than 6.39 million seats during this December. .

The year 2024 witnessed a group of strategic announcements that enhanced the performance of the aviation sector, most notably the announcement of the expansion and start of construction of the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum Airport at a cost of 128 billion dirhams, making it the largest in the world with a final capacity of 260 million passengers and five times that of Dubai Airport. The current international airport, which includes 400 aircraft gates.

During the current year, a ceremony was organized to launch the new name and identity for “Zayed International Airport”, which is considered the most innovative and smooth among international airports in this sector, while Abu Dhabi Airports received the prestigious “World’s Leading Airport Operator” award during the “Global Awards” distribution ceremony. Aviation sector achievements for the year 2024.

During the year, Zayed International Airport was crowned “The Most Beautiful Airport in the World” by the Prix Versailles Awards for Architecture and Design, while Dubai International Airport maintained the lead of the world’s airports in capacity for international flights during 2024, and removed its American counterpart, “Hartsfield-Atlanta,” from the top spot. The world’s largest airports in the index of total seat capacity on both “international and domestic” flights twice this year, during January and December, according to OAG data.

Emirates Airlines won 4 awards at the World Travel Awards 2024, including various products and services. It also topped the “Ultra 2024” awards as the best air carrier in the world, and also won 7 “Skytrax World Airlines 2024” awards.

Emirates Airlines also ranked at the top of the list of the best air carriers in the world for the year 2024, according to the classification of the British newspaper The Telegraph.

In turn, Etihad Airways won three awards at the World Travel Awards 2024, as it won the award for the best airline in the world in customer experience, the award for the best economy class in the world, and the award for the best first class lounge for an airline in the world.

The UAE has continued its commitment to sustainability in the aviation sector, as the year 2024 witnessed several initiatives related to supporting sustainability in the sector, whether in terms of expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel, or initiatives related to ground operations at airports at airports by service providers such as “dnata,” or Initiatives launched by airports.

Dubai Airports announced the launch of the largest project to install solar panels on the roof of any airport in the world, as the energy produced from the panels will meet 6.5% of Dubai International Airport’s energy needs and 20% of Al Maktoum International Airport’s needs.

According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the aircraft of UAE companies are considered among the newest in the world, as the age of the air fleet does not exceed 12 to 15 years, which contributes to reducing the carbon footprint.