State of the Industry Report

Beijing Capital Airport pioneered the airport city concept in China, he explains, adding that most of the top 15 airports in China are undergoing airport city development projects. China is the second largest aviation market after the U.S., and has experienced double-digit cargo growth for the past ten years. Some key projects:

• Guangzhou Baiyun Inter-national Airport has been tagged to become the Asian-Pacific hub for FedEx. The airport has 88 square kilometers of land available for development with rail/highway infrastructure already in place.
• Yunnan Province Airport Group is developing the nation’s fourth largest gateway airport with an investment of some $3.3 billion in Phase 1. It is one of 11 new airports planned for the province.

The middle east
Dubai Airports, home of Emirates Airlines, is in the midst of transforming its airport into an Aerotropolis — Dubai World Central — that connects to several airport cities, explains Anita Mehra Homayoun, VP of marketing. Rail will connect the airport to all of Dubai, and an adjacent port will become a ‘maritime city’ that features a bonded corridor for trade.

Emirates takes delivery of its first Airbus A-380 jumbo jet this summer, and has 57 on order, making it the largest A-380 customer. It will occupy the newest of three terminals. The airport has six parallel runways.