Increasing numbers of first time flyers, rising disposable income, expanding tourism, and new routes are driving a need for 34,170 passenger and 730 freighter aircraft worth a total of $5.3 trillion in the next 20 years, a report said.
With Middle East passengers projected to double by 2035, the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) is fuelling $100 billion in airport expansion and construction projects in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and UAE, according to industry experts. The UAE will lead the Middle East growth in number of air travellers with over 6.
Saudi Arabia is committed to the development of a major aerospace industry in the kingdom and plans to create a facility at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where aircraft such as the Airbus 380 and Boeing 777 could also be built, said a senior official.
Quintiq, a Dassault Systèmes brand and global leader in supply chain planning and optimisation (SCP&O), has been selected by Dubai Airports to plan and schedule its fixed resources at Dubai International and Dubai World Central.
SR Technics, a leading maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider with major presence in the UAE, said it has signed a new multi-year engine parts repair agreement with US-based VAS Aero Services.
After two years of preliminary study, Aerion Corporation and GE Aviation have launched a formal process to define and evaluate a final engine configuration for the AS2 supersonic business jet. The two companies will continue to participate in a formal and gated process to define a potential collaboration for an AS2 engine.
Sita Lab, which explores the future of technology in air travel, has unveiled Kate, an intelligent check-in kiosk that will autonomously move to busy or congested areas in the airport as needed, promising to relegate check-in queues to the past.
With 14 million passengers a year expected by 2020, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has chosen Thales and Sita to provide the security and operations management system for Bahrain International Airport.
