Continuing from my previous post about the rising ecommerce industry of Dubai, this time we take a look at the UAE’s aviation industry which is forging ahead with its expansion and giving a lift to many allied sectors such as logistics, real estate and tourism in this area.

A 2012 report from Oxford Economics predicted a bright future for Dubai Aviation. As per the report the aviation industry is set to double in value in less than 10 years. The fast-growing Emirates Airline and Dubai Airports Company are the current leaders that already support greater than 250,000 jobs and add up more than US $22 billion to the local economy.  The report predicts that the industry will be worth $44.5 billion by 2020.  

Multiple accolades

UAE is currently said to have the best airlines. Skytrax ranking of top 10 airlines showed up two UAE airlines on the list: the Emirates Airlines flying out of Dubai and the smaller Etihad Airways which is based in Abu Dhabi.  The World Travel Awards also chose Etihad Airways as the world’s best airlines. Industry professionals also consider Etihad Airways matchless in terms of world’s best cabin crew and first class travel. In addition, the Dubai International airport‘s first class lounge has been ranked as the world’s best. This is an irony that despite inventing the airline industry, the USA still lags behind in most aspects.

It is estimated that aviation would contribute 32 percent of Dubai’s GDP by 2020 and offer employment to 372, 900 professionals during the same period. Currently the aviation industry represents around 19 percent of entire employment in Dubai.  The aviation logistics industry is also expected to experience direct impact of the growing aviation jobs. A boost in the Dubai’s aviation industry also puts the logistics sector at advantage giving boost to logistics jobs in Dubai.

New boost to Dubai’s aviation industry

Dubai will be host a new aviation district which is set to spearhead growth across maintenance, repair and overhaul industry. The new aviation district will also strengthen emirate’s position as one of the largest air transport hubs. Located next to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, the airport when completed will have the capacity to handle 160 million passengers and 12m tones of cargo per year.  The aviation district was officially unveiled at the emirate’s 2014 MRO conference. In addition to these plans, carriers are also expanding their fleet. In 2013, Emirates Airlines placed an order of 50 Airbus planes triggering demand for additional maintenance and servicing employees and serving a boost to overall jobs in aviation industry.  Other carriers are following the suit with Etihad Airways building up their fleets.

Aviation hub also driving Dubai’s real estate market

A surprise benefactor from Dubai’s status as aviation hub is the region’s real estate sector. Property prices have risen at a greater than average pace as per a report by Knight Frank. Another international real estate consultancy, Cluttons says that real estate sector will emerge as one of the primary beneficiaries of the development of Al Maktoum International Airport.  According to Faisal Durrani, the manager at Cluttons’ International Research and Business Development, ““The residential sector will no doubt be an obvious long term benefactor of the significant rise in the number of jobs being created, with both lettings and buyer demand set to rise significantly as the number of households in the city increases,”.

The Knight Frank’s Global House Index revealed that Dubai continues to top the annual rankings for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Such is the effect of the rising aviation industry of Dubai. The city will also play host to the Airport Show 2015 which will be held from May 10 to 12.