Ajman Airport waiting for operations clearance

A top official at the Ajman government said the master plan and the work on the airport costing Dh12.7 billion started in 2008 and is scheduled to be completed this year.

The White Lake Consortium Group, which has inked an agreement with the Ajman Government to carry out the airport development work is currently in coordination with the Aviation Authority to issue a permit for the opening and operation of the airport.

The facility is coming up in an area of 60 million sq ft, 60km away from Ajman City, with the main road to Manama linking Fujairah on the east coast and Sharjah on the west coast.

The airport will accommodate various types of aircraft, serving at least one million passengers a year and handling a minimum of 400,000 tonnes of cargo. However, initially, it will start with cargo services and air taxis to transport passengers to other emirates. The airport will have the latest technologies most modern European airports have.

“An Airport City including residential buildings, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls and centres, is also under completion,” the official said.

Director General of the Aviation Authority Saif Al Suwaidi stressed that providing approval for operations in Ajman require re-evaluation of common airspace and joint agreements among other airports in other emirates including Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. The limited airspace due to the presence of these four airports close to each other pose major challenges to the establishment of a new airport: “But we are working hard to provide approval for the operation of the Ajman International Airport,” he stressed.

He pointed out that the Aviation Authority is in the process of holding meetings with all airports in the northern emirates to reach the best possible solution in order to ensure continuity in achieving the highest degree of safety for air traffic in the country.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com