Abu Dhabi Airport says that its major new MTB project is making ‘excellent progress’ and has a good chance of meeting its opening deadline of 17 July 2017.

 

As construction works on MTB continue at a furiously rapid pace, Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) set a new annual traffic record in 2014 welcoming around 20m passengers in total, which represents an impressive 20% increase YOY. The 20m figure is the highest ever in Abu Dhabi International Airport’s history.

 

H.E. Ali Majed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “Abu Dhabi Airports is playing a fundamental role in supporting the drive by the emirate of Abu Dhabi to grow its global position as a key player in various dynamic industries, including aviation, both through offering excellent services for passengers, and by increasing capacity to meet the continuing growth in demand.

 

“The continuing growth in passenger numbers translates this ambition as it strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as a growing global transportation hub. Travellers are increasingly choosing to make Abu Dhabi their final destination or stopping point, whether for business or for pleasure, and we will maintain our commitment to improving their experience at Abu Dhabi International Airport, applying imagination and innovation to everything we do. This will be seen in all of our operations, not least in the Midfield Terminal Project, which is making excellent progress towards its opening in 2017.”

 

In 2014 two new airlines joined Abu Dhabi International Airport; the Greek Aegean Airline and Nikki Airways from Austria, and a further 12 new destinations were added during the year. The top five destinations from Abu Dhabi were India, Germany, United Kingdom, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

 

Last month, the airport re-opened its newly renovated Southern Runway as part of its expansion plans in preparation for the Midfield Terminal Complex (MTC) becoming operational in 2017. The airport’s capacity will be boosted further by 30m passengers when the Midfield Terminal is fully operational.

 

The Southern Runway is now fully functional alongside the parallel Northern Runway. Together, both runways will reach a total combined capacity in excess of 500,000 aircraft movements annually making Abu Dhabi International Airport one of the largest two-runway operations in the world.

 

Figures for the month of December 2014 show that the airport ended the year on a high note. Passenger traffic was up 21.7% with 1,833,868 million travellers compared to December 2013.