Top regional and global aviation industry executives debated various aspects of airports at Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF) in Dubai.

The two-day forum is being attended by delegates from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region where $100 billion investments are earmarked for airport developments.

Addressing the forum, Khalifa Al-Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation said the first phase of Dubai World Central (DWC) has been completed and work was underway to accelerate the development in all major components in the coming years.

“The potentials of this ambitious project in terms of economic, social, and environmental benefits are very immense. We are highly excited to see the full completion of this project given its current and future contributions to the global aviation industry,” he said, referring to the multi-billion dollar DWC being developed on a 140 kilo-meter site as the world’s first aerotropolis.

According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines around the world carried about 2.91 billion passengers in 2013, which is slightly less than half the population of the globe and this figure was projected to increase by 2017 to four billion people.

Forecasts by experts and stakeholders suggest that the airlines in the Middle East plans to invest $450 billion to acquire2525 new aircraft by 2030, which will increase the size of their fleets by 160 percent in 2030, up from the present 1060 aircraft.

“GCC will witness a substantial growth of 7.6 percent, above the global average of five percent. ICAO and Airport Council International (ACI) predicts that the Arabian Gulf states will serve 450 million passengers annually by 2020 and the total aircraft movements in the Gulf airspace will reach over 2.3 million,” said Omar Bin Ghaleb, deputy director general of General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in his speech.

“The UAE will have a major share in the aircraft movements in the most congested airspace in the world. The aircraft movements in the UAE airspace will increase to 1.62 million in 2030 with aircraft movements numbering 4,400 per day compared with the present 2200 aircraft movements,” he added

Moderating a panel discussion on Airport Development: Economic pillars to increase national competitiveness, Laila bin Hareb Al Muhairi, assistant director general of strategy and international affairs at GCAA, said the $2.2 trillion aviation industry with 3850 airports under its wings, if considered as a country, would rank 19th in the world for the GDP.

Mohammed Al-Bulooki, chief commercial officer, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), highlighted the need for focusing more passenger facilitation at the airports and enlarging the scope of cooperation and collaboration among the aviation industry stakeholders for national competitiveness.

Mustafa Sani Sener, CEO and executive board member of TAV Group of Turkey involved in 14 airport developments in the Middle East, including UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, endorsed the effectiveness and benefits of Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) for the airports in remaining efficient and competitive.

He cited success stories of several airports. “Connectivity is productivity for the airports. If the passengers are happy, they will spend more at airports. The first 60 minutes of passengers at airport are crucial to offer memorable experience,” he said, while sharing details about a TAV survey at Istanbul airport which showed passengers spending 10.68 Euros more at the duty free when having happy with the airport.

Participating in a session on Aerotropolis, John D. Kasarda, leading US academic and father of Aerotropolis concept, said aerotropolizes were coming up in the Middle East, China and India as each region prepares to take its place on the world stage.

An aerotropolis has an airport city at its core and is surrounded by clusters of aviation-related enterprises that gain a competitive advantage by utilizing each other’s strength and capabilities.