Dubai International Airport officials say they expect to handle 98.5 million passengers annually by 2020.
The Associated Press adds “Dubai International Airport is already the world’s fourth busiest in terms of international passengers. Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said Tuesday he expects it to push London Heathrow from the No. 1 spot within four to five years.”
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AP says fast growth by Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai are helping fuel the airport’s aggressive projections.
Meanwhile, Dubai is currently building a second airport — Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International — though its opening for passenger service has been delayed until 2012.
Reuters notes the airport — which will be “billed as the world’s largest airport when it opens (for passenger flights) in 2012″ — is already accepting cargo flights.
Dubai Airports — which operates both Dubai World Central and Dubai International — says Dubai World Central will be able to accommodate 160 million passengers a year once commercial passenger flights begin.
Reuters says the new airport “is part of the Dubai World Central transport hub which the Gulf Arab emirate is developing to underpin efforts to become a key Mideast logistics center.”
“Increased liberalization, GDP growth and increasingly affluent and mobile populations in emerging markets will combine to propel air travel growth worldwide,” Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO, is quoted as saying by Trade Arabia.
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