DWC: ‘geocentric location’


Dubai World Central Al Maktoum airport is increasing its cargo throughput at a rapid pace. Although not perhaps growing its footprint as fast as had been envisaged, due in no small part to the global air freight industry downturn, it is making the most of the emirate’s pivotal position on world trade lanes


D


ubai World Central (DWC) Al Mak- toum International airport is seeing rapid growth in its


freight volumes as the gateway progresses through its second full year of operation. Over the course of the first


three months of this year, the massive new gateway processed a total of 50,062 tonnes of cargo, not a huge amount but a 382 percent increase on the same three months of 2011. Air traffic movements


services to DWC, when it inaugurated a three times a week freighter operation from Riyadh. Dubai Airports CEO Paul


through DWC meanwhile rose by 313 percent year-on-year to reach a total of 3,513 as the airport began to find its feet. According to Dubai Airports, the increases


are due to the attraction of additional charter and scheduled services, as well as several large non-commercial contracts. One major development – in March this


year – saw Saudi Airlines Cargo become the lat- est major carrier to launch scheduled all-cargo


Griffiths: “DWC continues to ramp up”


Griffiths commented: “Despite the fact that the global cargo industry remains under pres- sure, DWC continues to ramp up as new operations are intro- duced. Increasingly, airlines are recognising that the airport, which is still in its infancy, has a unique value proposition with airlines able to take advan- tage of its bonded link to the Jebel Ali port. “Dubai Airports’ total cargo


volumes are expected to top 3 million tonnes by 2015 and an increasing portion of that growth is expected to spill over to DWC,” he added. “In 2012 the economic picture has


improved marginally from last year,” Griffiths continued. “World trade is gradually beginning to recover. While some major European economies have slipped into recession, US con-


SkyCargo handles record equine shipment


Two Emirates SkyCargo B777 freighter charters touched down in the UK recently, car- rying a total cargo of 112 horses from the Royal Cavalry of Oman. The first shipment of 70


horses was the largest num- ber ever transported by Emirates SkyCargo on a single freighter flight. The second flight arrived two days later with 42 horses. “With our Dubai hub now a major player in the world of horse racing, we have gained con-


siderable experience in the care and transport of horses and fly hundreds across the globe every year,” said Hiran Perera, Emirates senior vice president - cargo planning and freighters. The horses were transported in custom-built IATA-certified horse stalls, with a team of eight


grooms and a veterinary surgeon accompanying the animals on each flight. The complete stable-to-stable movement of the horses was organised by Equitrans Logis- tics, a leading horse-shipping agent in the Gulf region.


New ‘no limit’ air services deal inked with Botswana


A new air transport agreement has been signed between the UAE and Botswana. The deal places no limits on the number of


flights, capacity and types of aircraft owned or leased by appointed carriers for passenger and cargo services by both countries. The agreement also allows the practice of


fifth freedom rights in terms of both intermedi- ate and beyond rights, in addition to third and fourth freedom rights, with no limits imposed on passenger and cargo services. The UAE has signed air transport deals


with 146 countries around the world, including 104 open skies agreements.


sumer confidence is on the upswing. China’s economic expansion remains robust and both Thailand and Japan have started to rebuild from last year’s natural disasters. “This can only help augment volumes at


Dubai’s airports, which benefit from a growing network and a geocentric location that allows them to tap into these global trade flows,” he pointed out. In other news from DWC, Dubai Airports


has revealed that major international compa- nies are being attracted to its business park. The latest arrival is Nestlé Middle East. The park forms an intrinsic part of DWC,


an ‘aerotropolis’ intended to boost Dubai’s avi- ation, trade and logistics sectors, while also acting as an entry point to the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) region. DWC covers an area of 140km2


in southern


Dubai. Once it is completed, the gateway is expected to be able to handle up to 12 million


tonnes of cargo each year. n Dubai’s other major air gateway, Dubai International airport, handled a total of 517,440 tonnes of freight over the first quarter of this year, up by 1.1 percent on the same three months of 2011.


28 May 2012


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