Air traffic capacity constraints threaten aviation growth

Dubai Airports CEO calls for regional cooperation:

Air traffic capacity constraints pose the single largest threat to aviation growth and the billions of dollars of additional economic activity. Its expansion is expected to generate in the Middle East and globally over the next decade, according to Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.

In Dubai, aircraft movements are now five times more numerous than 25 years ago, growing from 63,000 in 1985 to over 307,000 in 2010, said Griffiths in a speech delivered to air traffic management executives attending the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization’s (CANSO) annual general meeting held in Bangkok recently. By 2020 aircraft movements will surpass 560,000 and passenger numbers will climb to 98.5 million. Unfortunately, the airspace is currently not configured to support the growth and capacity bottlenecks are looming on the horizon. “We have an outdated route structure, fragmented airspace and there is a lack of effective coordination on a regional scale,” Griffiths said.

Traffic growth is expected to generate significant economic expansion. In Dubai alone, aviation supports 250,000 jobs and $ 22 billion in economic activity, according to the results of a recently released study conducted by leading global research firm Oxford Economics. By 2020 aviation is projected to support 373,000 jobs or 22 percent of the total employment in Dubai and $ 45.4 billion in economic activity or 32 percent of GDP.

Dubai is not alone in its recognition of the value of aviation. Airlines and airports across the Middle East are investing heavily in aircraft and infrastructure expansion to capture the value of the anticipated growth. Arab countries plan to spend nearly $ 200 billion on new aircraft in the next 15 years to meet demand. And more than $ 100 billion has been committed to airport expansion, more than half of which is in the UAE itself.

“Previously most of aviation’s congestion problems have existed on the ground, now the biggest strategic threat to the growth of aviation is in the air,” said Griffiths. “There are several root causes for this malaise. The external factors start with nationalism and politics getting in the way of logic. There is needless concern over sovereignty issues which have long been overcome elsewhere. Another is an outdated regulatory environment which is not supporting the new order of aviation where airspace is viewed as a global commodity, not a local product. Finally, airspace management is being seen by other parts of the industry as a black art, not a vital part of the supply chain and is therefore not properly integrated,” he said.