Arab carriers will continue growth says AACO chief

Addressing the Aviation Festival MENA in Dubai, Teffaha said Arab carriers are now handling in excess of 184 million passengers a year and that last year the region’s airports catered to 325 million passengers – a huge surge since 3.1 million when the organisation was formed 50 years ago.

Teffaha said the Arab world has witnessed the highest aviation growth across all sectors than anywhere else and that the growth can be sustained by capitalising on the region’s geography of being “smack in the middle” of a globalised world, by leveraging technology investment, continuing to provide value-add to passengers and delivering exceptional travel experiences.

Teffaha admitted there were “hurdles” ahead citing neo-protectionism, infrastructure challenges, taxation – which he says is now “the name of the game in Europe and the USA.”

Neo-protectionism, said the AACO chief, would rapidly become a thing of the past. “The next generation will not recognise boundaries and I don’t think the hurdles will be allowed to prevail. Protectionism is a lose-lose situation, meaning losses for operators and passengers.”