Let it fly
Arab Aviation Summit opens in Dubai with a call to eliminate protectionism to enable the growth of the industry in line with Dubai’s highly successful ‘open skies’ policy.
dubai — The Arab Aviation Summit opened in Dubai on Wednesday with a call to eliminate protectionism to enable the growth of the aviation industry in line with Dubai’s highly successful “open skies” policy.
Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretarygeneral, Arab Air Carriers Organisation, said protectionism or blocking key aviation players from global and regional markets would be counter-productive to the growth of the global airline industry.
In his address at the summit — which was inaugurated by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Emirates airline and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group — Teffaha said the aviation sector should learn from Dubai.
“Dubai’s government has subscribed not only to open skies but also to openness to everything. We have tried protectionism and failed because it creates inefficiencies. Dubai has succeeded due to openness and the removal of the idea of protectionism.”
“Developing the aviation industry, which contributes directly to economic growth, creates jobs and business opportunities in almost all sectors, is what makes it exciting. But this will not happen through protectionism or by blocking key players from global and regional markets,” said Teffaha.
“As we face many present day challenges, including air traffic management, sky liberalisation, rising taxes and charges, secondary airports among others, we need to work together to bring more social and economic benefits to the Arab world,” he said.
The 7th Arab Aviation Summit, themed ‘Time to Transform: Addressing sustainability challenges
We have tried protectionism and failed because it creates inefficiencies Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretary-general, Arab Air Carriers Organisation
and opportunities for the regional aviation sector’, was attended by more than 200 industry participants from 15 Arab countries.
According to Iata, the Middle East’s aviation market is forecast to grow five per cent annually until 2036. Predictions show the sector will witness an extra 322 million passengers a year on routes to, from and within the region and the total market size will expand to 517 million passengers over this period.
The Middle East region gained a five per cent share of the global aviation market last year, flying 206.1 million passengers — an increase of 9.1 per cent over 2015.
Adel Al Ali, Arab Aviation Summit chairperson and group CEO of Air Arabia, said Arab aviation is highly affected by the evolving geopolitical situation, the global economy, technological developments and others.
“Our region is witnessing constant development and the theme for this year’s edition, ‘Time to Transform’, reflects this fact. Today, we address the sustainability of our industry and the challenges and opportunities it faces in the short and long term,” said Al Ali.
Samir Al Darabi, director of United Nations Information Center for Gulf, said the aviation summit seeks to highlight the contributions of aviation and tourism sector and its economic impact on the Arab world. “We will also address key challenges facing the regional industry, including geopolitical changes, air management, open sky policies and fluctuating oil prices.”
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said the big change over the years is the opening up of the aviation markets in the region.
“There are still more opportunities to be tapped here and we are still behind the curve. There are still no open skies and we need to work towards changing that situation. Why is Dubai the tourism and aviation hub of the region? Regional governments need to learn from Dubai. There is no set model that says that low cost airlines have to behave in a certain way. In our region we have different types of customers and you have to offer options,” he said.
According to Airbus’ Global Market Forecast, released this year, the fleet size of operators in the Middle East is forecast to more than double from 1,250 to 3,320 aircraft over the next two decades.
By 2036, there will be 95 megacities, catering to 98 per cent of the world’s long-haul services.
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com