Air traffic will more than double in size over the next two decades, reaching 7.3 billion passengers in 2034. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is convinced of this. And whether in Asia, Europe or the Gulf, people are preparing for this incredible growth. China, in particular, is expecting a host of new hubs, in addition to the expansion of existing hubs. The major project is undoubtedly the construction of a second airport in Beijing to cope with expected traffic of 140 million passengers by 2020. This compares with 87 million last year. In Southeast Asia, the formation of the ASEAN common market will also result in an airport boom. In Singapore, a terminal specially dedicated to regional and low-cost airlines - terminal 4 - is expected in 2017. In Ho Chi Minh City, an international airport is being developed on the Long Thanh site, 50 km from the Vietnamese metropolis; a necessity given that the current airport is close to saturation. It is due to open in 2023, with an initial capacity of 25 million passengers. In Burma too, the economic and tourism boom has prompted plans for a new airport 50 km from Rangoon, at Hantawaddy. The hub will be able to handle 12 million passengers, including those travelling by Airbus A380. Inauguration is scheduled for the end of 2017, but 2018 would seem a more reasonable date... In India, after a new terminal in Bombay launched last spring, giving the country's economic capital an airport worthy of the name, new terminals are being prepared in Calcutta, Delhi and Goa, among others...<\/p>\n
Of all the regions in the world, the Gulf is obviously the one with the most superlatives. Dubai Al Makhtoum airport, located in the Jebel Ali port area, is one of the key elements of a veritable aerocity being developed around the future site of the Dubai World Expo in 2020. Already linked to some forty destinations, the airport will eventually be able to handle 160 million passengers. However, the star attraction this year has been Hamad International Airport in Doha, which opened in May. This new pride of Qatar is probably one of the most luxurious hubs on the planet, capable of handling 29 million passengers in its initial phase. Lounges, an art space, relaxation rooms, a spa and squash courts are all on the programme! The next eagerly awaited opening is Abu Dhabi's Midfield Terminal, scheduled for 2017.<\/p>\n
Europe is far from lagging behind in this global movement. On the other hand, Istanbul is waiting for its future hub, which will be the largest on the continent, at a total cost of 6.5 billion dollars for a platform that will be able to handle 150 million passengers a year. Located to the north of the European side of the Turkish metropolis, it is due to open in 2019 and will be able to handle 90 million passengers in 680,000 m2 of space as soon as it opens. Last year, the city's two existing airports handled more than 60 million passengers. Another gigantic project, but on hold for the moment, is a brand new London airport that could be built in the middle of an artificial island on the Thames estuary. With four runways and a capacity of 200 million passengers, it would be linked to central London by high-speed train. Except that the entry ticket - \u00a350 billion - is considered too expensive. A solution must be found quickly. Time is of the essence, because according to the BBC, Heathrow was operating at 98 % of its capacity in 2014...\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
415 billion dollars. It's a staggering figure. According to a survey by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), this is the total amount currently being invested in new airports and aviation infrastructure.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"type-darticle":[52],"n_magazine":[],"class_list":["post-38977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aerien","type-darticle-breve","vapo-free"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n