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Dubai airport aims to avoid Heathrow debacle
http://www.reuters.com/article/reute...32866220080508
Dubai airport aims to avoid Heathrow debacle Thu May 8, 2008 3:49am EDT By Jason Benham DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai said it plans to open its new $4.5 billion airport terminal gradually rather than with "a big bang" to avoid the chaos that marked the opening of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 in March, which is 25 percent smaller. The high-profile opening of the London facility, which can handle as many as 30 million passengers per year, turned into a public relations disaster, with hundreds of flights cancelled and tens of thousands of bags missing. Dubai Airports Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths, who runs the Middle East's busiest airport, said he planned to avoid a similar fate by treading cautiously when he opens the 40-million-passenger-capacity terminal this year. "We'll exhaustively be testing the terminal systems throughout the summer. We'll put a few flights in bit by bit, in waves rather than a big bang," he told Reuters in an interview. Griffiths said there was no specific opening day for the new terminal but rather a gradual process, a strategy which has worked for other airports around the world. Construction of the terminal was due to be finished as early as 2006. "A common thread through all of them is that the successful openings have been done softly," he said. The new terminal will enable Dubai to more than double capacity at the airport to 65 million people per year, from 25 million now, though the airport handled 34 million people in 2007. "The terminal has not been hit by the recent escalation of material costs because we bought them a while back," Griffiths said. "Our worry is for future developments. We have bought the steel for concourse three but our worry is for future materials we may have to buy. Continued... |
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Crosspost viruses beware
"Ned Flanders" a écrit dans le message de ... http://www.reuters.com/article/reute...32866220080508 Dubai airport aims to avoid Heathrow debacle Thu May 8, 2008 3:49am EDT By Jason Benham DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai said it plans to open its new $4.5 billion airport terminal gradually rather than with "a big bang" to avoid the chaos that marked the opening of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 in March, which is 25 percent smaller. The high-profile opening of the London facility, which can handle as many as 30 million passengers per year, turned into a public relations disaster, with hundreds of flights cancelled and tens of thousands of bags missing. Dubai Airports Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths, who runs the Middle East's busiest airport, said he planned to avoid a similar fate by treading cautiously when he opens the 40-million-passenger-capacity terminal this year. "We'll exhaustively be testing the terminal systems throughout the summer. We'll put a few flights in bit by bit, in waves rather than a big bang," he told Reuters in an interview. Griffiths said there was no specific opening day for the new terminal but rather a gradual process, a strategy which has worked for other airports around the world. Construction of the terminal was due to be finished as early as 2006. "A common thread through all of them is that the successful openings have been done softly," he said. The new terminal will enable Dubai to more than double capacity at the airport to 65 million people per year, from 25 million now, though the airport handled 34 million people in 2007. "The terminal has not been hit by the recent escalation of material costs because we bought them a while back," Griffiths said. "Our worry is for future developments. We have bought the steel for concourse three but our worry is for future materials we may have to buy. Continued... |
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