RAK International takes off in 2016 with 68% growth

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has witnessed its best year yet, recording year on year passenger growth of 68%.

Meanwhile cargo tonnage growth soared 98% and aircraft movements increased 37%, according the chairman Engr. H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi.

“A lot of hard work has been put in over recent years and we have now started to reap some of the rewards,” he said.

“In February, Qatar Airways inaugurated flights from Doha to Ras Al Khaimah, connecting RAK to long haul routes in Europe, China and beyond. In April Air India Express gave us an Indian connection that goes some way to satisfying the still under-served Indian sector from RAK.

“In May Sun MRO started its setup at RAK to establish a narrow-body repair and maintenance centre, and in September we had the inauguration of Egypt Air Cargo flights, the first flag carrier freighter operating to RAK.”

He added: “The beginning of October saw an early start of winter tourism season with ten charters coming from various parts of Europe, CIS and Russia.”

The latter was a result of joint efforts by RAK Airport and RAK Tourism Development Authority, he noted.

Mohammed Qazi, the airport’s CEO, stressed that Ras Al Khaimah’s national carrier, Air Arabia, increased to daily frequencies on most of the routes it operates from RAK. He attributed the high load factors at the airport to its easy accessibility from the Northern Emirates, which is a sizeable catchment area.

RAK Airport also opened the expansion of the Arrival Terminal on time in October. This enlargement included the latest state-of-the-art smart immigration gates that process each passenger in approximately five seconds.

“The key focus is on the timeliness of our operations, as we believe the quicker you can process the passengers the more satisfied both the passengers and airlines are,” said Qazi.

“Besides, less ground time simply means more revenues for the airlines, and we are ranked top amongst the airports for on-time performance for airlines operating at RAK Airport.”

Qazi said the airport had ambitious targets given the aviation sector was growing at a rate of more than 5% globally with regional trends are above this average.

“We are continuing to invest in infrastructure in order to cater for the future,” he said.

“We hope that the global economy shows improvements next year as there have been a number of uncertainties during 2016.

“Generally speaking one new job in aviation creates six new jobs in the wider economy. We have increased our manpower by 16% this year, so you can do the math on what we are contributing to the top line through our multiplier effect. It is paramount that RAK Airport continues on its path and contributes towards the GDP of the Emirate.”