Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad to launch more flights to China
Following on from the launch of the Chengdu route yesterday, Etihad Airways has announced today of further plans to expand its network in China with daily non-stop, return services between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai – subject to government approval.
The new flights, scheduled to commence on 1st March 2012, will make Shanghai the airline’s 70th global destination. Read more
Low cost airline Air Arabia takes off to Abu Dhabi from Alexandria
Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), announced today the start of its direct services from its latest hub in Alexandria, Egypt, to the UAE’s Capital Abu Dhabi. Read more
Abu Dhabi Airport is ACN's "World's Best Cargo Airport 2010"
Abu Dhabi International Airport received the international accolade of “Best Cargo Airport 2010” at an award ceremony in London last night, as part of the 27th annual ‘Air Cargo News Awards’.
Using the latest independent data from Airport Council International (ACI) for 2009, Abu Dhabi International Airport was judged to be the world’s “Best Cargo Airport of the Year”, as it outpaced in growth all the other large cargo (over 300,000 metric tons category) airports across the globe.
Huraiz Al Murr Bin Huraiz, Chief Commercial Officer at (ADAC), the operator of Abu Dhabi International, said: “Abu Dhabi International Airport is rapidly becoming a recognised international hub for both passenger and cargo carriers. It is, therefore, an honor to have been recognised for the efforts ADAC is making in supporting the growth of our existing and prospective partner airlines in the cargo and freight industry.”
Saif M. Al Mazrouei, Chairman’s Office Manager at ADAC receives the “Best Cargo Airport Award 2010”
As one of the leading commentators on the industry, Air Cargo News has been running the “Cargo Airline of the Year” Award for the past 26 years. Introduced in 2003, the “Cargo Airport of the Year” award was, for the first time this year, split in to two categories – the “Over 300,000 metric tons” and “Below 300,000 metric tons”. Abu Dhabi International Airport was the inaugural winner in the ‘Over 300,000 Tons’ category.
On that note, Abu Dhabi airport company has won few other awards this year including the latest Skytrax Award in which Abu Dhabi International Airport was named the “Most Improved Airport 2009-2010” Moving it up from number 47 of last year to become the world’s 26th airport.
Etihad Crystal Cargo launch service to Erbil
Etihad Crystal Cargo, a division of Etihad Airways, has launched a weekly service from its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The service operates an A300-600F freighter to Erbil with a payload of 42 tonnes on the route. Flights commenced last month on March 26 and will operate every Tuesday and Saturday.
Cargo flights to Erbil are Etihad’s second cargo service to Iraq, following a twice weekly service to Baghdad.
Des Vertannes, Executive Vice President of Cargo said: “We are very pleased to be operating our second service to Iraq.
“Our service to Baghdad has built a strong customer base in the country and we look forward to continuing our contribution to developing commercial ties between the UAE and Iraq.”
With its fleet of two Airbus A300-600 aircraft and two MD11, Etihad Crystal Cargo has 22 cargo freighter destinations in the Middle East and Africa and 70 destinations across the globe.
Good month for Abu Dhabi International Airport as traffic grows
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) have released its monthly traffic report for Abu Dhabi International Airport, which shows strong passenger and cargo growth for February 2010, over the same month last year.
Passenger traffic increased by 17.2% with aircraft movements up by 13.3% and cargo tonnage handled grew by 17.6%, compared to February 2009. The year-to-date figures, for the first two months of the year, also showed robust growth at 14.0%.
Bangkok became the airport’s busiest destination in February, pushing London into second place with Doha the third busiest city destination for the month. Bahrain and Manila were fourth and fifth place respectively; the top-five destinations accounting for 21 per cent of the airport’s overall traffic.
Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, ADAC, said:
“From the start of this year, we have seen encouraging results as Abu Dhabi International Airport continues to grow steadily and strongly. As such ADAC remains focused on enhancing the facilities and services we offer to our passengers, committed to attracting new airlines, and ensuring we can facilitate the growing number of visitors to and from the UAE capital in 2010.”
Abu Dhabi In-flight Catering Company records delay-free year
Following on from its International Air Transport Association (IATA) Gold Award, Abu Dhabi In-flight Catering Company (ADIFC), along with its management partners LSG Sky Chefs, has announced its 2009 on-time performance results, with 44,783 flights catered and zero associated delays recorded.
Despite the volume of catered-flights increasing by 41.3 per cent over the last three years, ADIFC and LSG has seen a corresponding decrease in flight delays attributed to catering operations. ADIFC announced that it had moved from seven delays in 2007, to three in 2008, to zero last year.
Huraiz bin Huraiz, Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the parent company of ADIFC, said: “First and foremost, this is a team effort and I would like to thank all 1,263 employees at Abu Dhabi Inflight Catering Company for delivering this result; it is an achievement that each and every staff member can be justifiably proud of.”
“The result demonstrates ADIFC’s constant drive and determination to achieve its ‘Right First Time, Every Time’ philosophy and complements the consistently high quality services and products we offer to our airline customers, especially at a time where they have faced rapid expansion and increased activity.”
As the home airline at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad is understandably ADIFC’s largest customer but amongst ADIFC’s other airline customers are international carriers such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and KLM.
ADAC & Al Jaber Aviation sign largest tenancy deal at Al Bateen Executive Airport
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has signed a landmark 10-year leasing deal with Al Jaber Aviation (AJA), which will see the new leading provider of VIP aviation based at Al Bateen Executive Airport, in the heart of the UAE capital.
The deal makes Al Jaber Aviation the largest tenant to sign up at Al Bateen – the region’s only dedicated private aviation airport – since ADAC took over the management of the airport in 2009.
Declared as a ‘win-win’ situation for both partners, AJA’s new office space now strategically locates the VIP aviation company in the heart of Abu Dhabi, while – for ADAC – the agreement complements its strategy of diversification of its airports.
According to the agreement, AJA will be signed up for a minimum of 10 years, with the office space having been delivered to the VIP aviation company in three phases. AJA confirmed that the final phase is near completion and the offices will be fully operational within two months.
On signing the deal, ADAC’s Chief Commercial Officer, Huraiz Al Mur bin Huraiz said: “We are pleased to welcome Al Jaber Aviation as ADAC’s first and now largest tenant at Al Bateen Executive Airport. The deal we are signing today is a clear indication of the growing importance of VIP and private aviation in the UAE capital, as well as the position Abu Dhabi, as a whole, is building as a key destination for VIP and executive travel.
“In addition, ADAC is equally committed to providing as much support to our national VIP aviation operators as needed, in order for them to achieve their expansion plans and build a peerless reputation in the industry.”
Dr. Mark Pierotti, Chief Operating Officer of Al Jaber Aviation described the deal as a reiteration of AJA’s partnership with ADAC, saying it will significantly empower the company’s plans to grow and achieve its development objectives, adding:
“With AJA planning to further build our aircraft fleet, over the coming years, we recognise that Al Bateen combines a strategic location with fully equipped operational, administrative as well as maintenance facilities managed by ADAC – the largest operator of airports in the UAE. Furthermore, basing AJA at Al Bateen will help us continue to deliver world-class services to our elite guests with fast-on-fast-off processing; an advantage that we could not obtain in other international or larger airports in the region.”
“We thank ADAC for their support and their trust in AJA. Our decision to base our offices at Al Bateen Executive Airport, which I understand now makes us the largest leasing tenant, is based on our future plans to expand our activities in the medium and long term.
