Airport Show Participants Embark On Expansion, Strategic Alliances

The Dubai Airport Show participating companies have exuded confidence that the aviation industry’s growth outlook is bright are either planning major expansion or signing up strategic partnerships to capture the growth opportunities.

DTP, aviation technology solutions provider, has signed a partnership agreement with Cirium, part of RELX PLC, a global provider of information-based analytics. The Cirium Partner Program is part of the companies’ vision to use fleets, flight status and schedules.

Abdul Razzak Mikati, DTP Managing Director, said: “As the first recognsed Cirium Partner, we believe our participation will enable us to enhance the overall travelling experience through the integration of smart data.”

Kevin O’Toole, Cirium’s Vice President, Strategy, said the mission is to help open up innovation in the air travel industry.

Technology giant Siemens is focusing on digital transformation for airports to make decisions without interruption and has established Digital Aviation Centre in Dubai. “We will be using Dubai as the global hub of our Digital Aviation Centre, as we see huge prospects for the aviation sector in the region,” said Mohammed Mohammed, General Manager and CFO, SD (Middle East) LLC, Logistics and Airport Solutions.

Dammam Airports Company (DACO) is embarking on a major expansion of its facilities and passenger and cargo handling capacities.

Turki Abdullah Aljawini, CEO of DACO, said the expansion is aimed at increasing the passenger capacity to 15 million next year from the 10 million last year. “We are expecting a growth of 5-7 per cent annually. Cargo handling and baggage capacities are also being increased by adapting smart technology. Our aim is to give passengers all facilities to enhance their experience.”

The airport authority is also planning to establish a bonded zone, similar to airport free zones elsewhere, for cargo handling.