Islamabad
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked first globally for air trade facilitation and tops the Middle East region for visa openness, according to the International Air Transport Association. This came as IATA presented its latest study on the importance of air transport to the United Arab Emirates showing that ongoing prioritisation of aviation as a key strategic asset could generate an additional 620,000 jobs and an extra US$80 billion in GDP for the nation’s economy by 2037. “Air transport’s contribution to the UAE economy is already significant. The industry at present supports nearly 800,000 jobs and contributes USD47.4 billion to the economy, accounting for 13.3% of the UAE’s GDP. If the government continues to pursue a positive agenda for aviation, the UAE’s aviation market will grow 170% by 2037, support 1.4 million jobs and contribute USD128 billion in GDP to the nation’s economy,” said the study. IATA identified three areas where government action can promote aviation’s growth and bring even more value to the UAE: Increase airspace capacity to ease congestion and meet future demand: Airspace capacity in the region has not kept pace with the growth in demand, which is leading to significant delays particularly in the GCC. Governments in the region must replace political fragmentation with collaborative cross-border decision-making to ensure that the global competitiveness of the region’s hubs is not affected, Emirates news agency WAM reported . “Over the past 25 years, the UAE has experienced an economic transformation; aviation has been at the heart of this evolution. Few states have a better understanding of the economic benefits that aviation’s connectivity provides than the UAE. Government policy supporting the development of aviation has paid great dividends.—APP
