AIRPORTS IN THE EMIRATES - SHARJAH, RAS AL-KHAIMAH, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBAI 004348

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/9/2016
TAGS: EAIR PINS TSPA EINV IR AE
SUBJECT: AIRPORTS IN THE EMIRATES - SHARJAH, RAS AL-KHAIMAH, AND
FUJAIRAH

REF: DUBAI 04121

CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L. Burns, Acting Consul General, Dubai,
UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Poleconoff met with the directors of Ras
al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Fujairah airports during June to
discuss the airports' operations and expansion plans. UAE
immigration uses iris scanning at all three airports. Sharjah
airport's expansion is driven by the success of Air Arabia. Ras
al-Khaimah airport's expansion plans have been scaled back, and
Ras al-Khaimah Airways provide most airport services. Fujairah
airport is a hub for US Navy logistic flights in the region. It
is the first UAE airport to use biometrics for personnel to gain
airside access. End Summary.

2.(SBU) Poleconoff met with the directors of Ras al-Khaimah,
Sharjah, and Fujairah airports during June to discuss the
airports' operations and expansion plans. The directors of the
three airports said they were looking for niches in the UAE
aviation sector. All three of the directors recognized that
their airports could not compete directly with Dubai
International for business, but they could offer alternatives,
especially in the sphere of air cargo.

Iris Scanners
--------------

3.(C) The three airport directors confirmed that UAE immigration
used iris scanning equipment at each of their airports. The use
of the iris scanning equipment was completely under the control
of immigration, not the Airport authorities. The airport
directors had observed that nearly all arriving passengers from
India, Pakistan, and the central Asian republics were subject to
iris scanning, while passengers from western Europe are scanned
randomly.

Sharjah Airport
--------------

4.(SBU) Dr. Ghanem al-Hajri, the director general of Sharjah's
Department of Civil Aviation and Sharjah Airport Authority
discussed current operations and expansion plans with poleconoff
during a meeting on June 20 (reftel). Of the three airports
visited, Sharjah is by far the busiest in terms of passenger and
cargo traffic.

Air Arabia Drives Sharjah Expansion
--------------

5.(SBU) Driven by the success of the Sharjah based low-cost
carrier Air Arabia (owned by the Sharjah government),Sharjah
Airport Authority (SAA) is renovating and expanding the
passenger terminal areas to accommodate eight million passengers
a year. (Current capacity is three million per year.) This
upgrade, the first to the airport's terminals since they were
built in the late 1970s, is scheduled for completion in 2006.
The SAA has a master plan for future expansion, but will
implement parts of the plan when passenger traffic increases
beyond eight million per year. SAA is also building a new hanger
for Air Arabia. Al-Hajri hopes Air Arabia will move all of its
maintenance from Abu Dhabi airport to Sharjah when Air Arabia
occupies the hanger.

6.(U) Apart from Air Arabia, Sharjah airport is primarily a
cargo airport, with Lufthansa the primary cargo airline. The
airport is Lufthansa's second largest cargo hub after Frankfurt.
Most of the cargo handled in Sharjah is transit cargo. Al-Hajri
said that SAA would like to see more cargo originating in or
destined for Sharjah and the UAE.

7.(SBU) Al-Hajri said that general aviation does not operate at
Sharjah airport. A number of flight schools and fixed base
operators had approached SAA with hopes of operating at Sharjah,
but al-Hajri would not permit it. He is concerned that light
aircraft, especially those with inexperienced pilots, would
present too great of a hazard to passenger and cargo airliners.

Ras al-Khaimah Airport
--------------


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8.(C) Mohamed S. al-Khadar, Director of Civil Aviation for Ras
al-Khaimah (RAK) discussed expansion plans for RAK airport with
Poleconoff on June 19. He termed the current plan as rather
modest. Previously, some of RAK's leaders, who al-Khadar would
not name, had decided to expand the airport to more than double
its present size. Al-Khadar said they had been influenced by
developers. After substantial internal debate, RAK's leaders
accepted an affordable plan that fit with reduced but more
realistic projections of traffic growth.

RAK Operations
--------------

9.(U) At present there are 47 licensed companies at RAK airport,
of which 31 of them are aircraft operators including airlines,
such as Gulf Air, Indian Airlines, Z Airways, Tajikistan
Airlines, and Jupiter Airlines. The airport handles about
250-300 flights per month with scheduled service between RAK and
India, Iran, Iraq, and Bangladesh. 85 percent of the flights are
cargo flights.

10.(C) One of the newest companies to start operating at RAK is
Supreme Foods International, a Swiss company. Supreme Foods is
under contract to supply food to US forces in Afghanistan. It
recently started flying two flights per day, using Antonov
An-12s, from RAK to Afghanistan.

Service to Qeshm Island, Iran
--------------

11.(SBU) Al-Khadar commented that Tajikistan Airlines daily
flights to Iran's Qeshm Island were a good source of revenue for
the airport. He referred to the flight as the "visa run."
Virtually all of the passengers take the flight so they can
reenter the UAE and get a new visa. The airport gets AED 30 per
passenger as a departure fee, and the passengers are not
expecting any services from the airport. He mentioned that the
passengers rarely disembark on Qeshm. Al-Khadar would like to
see aircraft larger than Tupolov Tu-134s used, as a larger plane
would mean more revenue for the airport.

Aircraft Storage
--------------

12.(SBU) RAK airport also earns money by allowing the storage of
aircraft at the airport. Currently, there are about ten planes
in storage, including Boeing 747s, Ilyushin IL-76s, and a
Gulfstream G-1 (reftel). Al-Khadar said that the region needs a
storage facility like Mojave airport in California, but readily
admits that RAK airport doesn't have the space to become a major
storage site.

Ras al-Khaimah Airways To Provide Ground Services
-------------- --------------

13.(SBU) The RAK government is establishing Ras al-Khaimah
Airways, which will be based at RAK airport. RAK Airways plans
to start operations with eight aircraft and fly to destinations
in the Middle East, India, and Africa. Al-Khadar hopes that RAK
Airways will bring enough new traffic to RAK that the airport
will be able to justify building a hotel and restaurant. Even
though the airline is not yet operational, it has been awarded
the contracts to provide catering, ground handling, emergency
services, and other unspecified functions at RAK airport.

14.(U) An Indian company will be opening a flying academy at RAK
airport in the coming year. According to al-Khadar, the academy
will offer a full range of training, from basic flight training
to advanced pilot ratings.

Ras al-Khaimah Spaceport
--------------

15.(C) Space Adventures is proposing to build a spaceport at RAK
airport, and offer suborbital commercial space flights. Al
Khadar downplayed the proposal and was skeptical about the
project's completion. If it opened, it would draw tourists to
RAK, but he didn't think it would have much of an effect on RAK
airport. Al-Khadar said the spaceport project required 30
million dollars to start up. Only after Space Adventures raises
USD 15 million will the government of RAK match that with USD 15
million. Comment: Space Adventures' website lists the overall
project cost as USD 265 million and does not indicate when the

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RAK spaceport might be go into operation. End Comment.

16.(SBU) The "space" flights will be launched from a
conventional airplane, thus, no special facilities need to be
built at the airport. Space Adventures would have a separate
area of the ramp for their operations. Al-Khadar added that if
Space Adventures start flying from RAK, they will need to
coordinate every flight with the UAEG and neighboring countries,
especially Iran.

Fujairah Airport
--------------

17.(C) Dr. Khaled al-Mazroui, the general manager of Fujairah
airport spoke with Poleconoff on June 26. Al-Mazroui is seeking
increased business for Fujairah airport, but he has no illusions
that it will become a major regional airport. The airport
primarily handles cargo and chartered passenger flights. The
airport has plans for limited expansion and improvement of the
passenger terminals. Only Indian Airways has scheduled flights
into Fujairah. The US Navy uses Fujairah as a regional logistics
hub.

US Navy - A Welcome Tenant
--------------

18.(C) Al-Mazroui commented several times that he had an
excellent working relationship with the US Navy. He considered
them a good tenant and hoped they would continue using Fujairah.
He would be happy if they expanded their operations.

Aircraft Storage at Fujairah
--------------

19.(C) More than a dozen seemingly derelict aircraft are parked
on the north side of the airfield. Aircraft types include
Antonov An-26s, Ilyushian IL-76s, and one Lockheed L-1011.
Al-Mazroui said that some of the Antonovs and Ilyushian
aircraft, owned by Volga Dneper, a Russian cargo airline, were
being stored. Other aircraft, which have been abandoned, will be
scrapped. Al-Mazroui would like Volga Dnepr to move their stored
aircraft to a different airport.

20.(SBU) In addition to cargo and passenger service, Fujairah
airport has general aviation, including a flight school.
Al-Mazroui thought general aviation should be encouraged and
expanded.

Biometrics For Airside Access
--------------

21.(C) While discussing the use of iris scanning by UAE
immigration officers on arriving passengers, al-Mazroui pointed
out that Fujairah airport was the first in the UAE to institute
biometrics for airport personnel to gain airside access. Access
to airside areas of the airport is controlled by fingerprint
readers.
BURNS