Takes A Village To Be An Airport

     Ali Al Jallaf, former director of Dubai Cargo Village, has a new job.
     As of April 1 he is now VP Cargo, Dubai Airport.
     “We are not going to be an authority anymore, but an airport company that manages the Dubai Flower Center, DXB and JXB,” he explained to FlyingTypers.
     Al Jallaf has been with Dubai Cargo Village since its 1991 inception, when it was 64th in the world cargo airport rankings.
     Last year as DCV celebrated 15 years of service it also was awarded ISO 9002 accreditation.
     By the end of last year Dubai was ranked 17th in the world, eclipsing London’s Heathrow Airport. (Of the European airports, only Frankfurt, Paris CDG and Amsterdam still handle more than Dubai.)
      “Hopefully this year we will move up one or two positions,” he said.
     “My dream is to be in the top 10 within five years.”
     Last year DXB handled more than 1.5m tons – no mean feat given its capacity is half of that at 750,000 tons and half of the airport is a monster construction site.
     He claimed, the reason DXB has experienced no significant problem with its overcapacity is due to its “smooth operations, flexibility in handling cargo here and the speed of clearance."
      Some airports, he pointed out, experience severe problems if they are 10 or 20 percent over capacity.
     DXB’s Mega Terminal, due to be fully operational by July/August (and open for storage only by May), will have a capacity of 1.2m tons itself.
     This, in addition to the current 750,000 tons, will provide some relief for one or two years.
     “It is forecasted that Dubai’s throughput will reach 1.7m tons in 2007,” he said. “Next year we expect 1.8m or 1.9m tons. “DXB can handle the traffic for the next two or three years maximum then we will have Jebel Ali.”
     Al Jallaf did have plans to retire in the next three or four years, but with the first phase of JXB to open by late 2008/early 2009, he now intends to postpone retirement to a date to be named later.
     “You have to ensure you leave a company in excellent running order,” he said.
     “You have to be proud.”
     If there is a criticism of cargo operations at the current Dubai International Airport, it is that carriers do not have a choice of handling agents.
     Emirates handles its own cargo while everyone else’s is handled by Dnata Cargo.
     The new JXB, according to Al Jallaf, will be open to other handlers.
     How many?
     “Well, five or six would be too many. “Three or four is enough, although obviously Emirates and Dnata would be two of them.
     “We can’t bring any more into DXB at the moment because of the structure of the airport, but JXB will definitely allow for it.”
     There is speculation among the 38 airlines housed in Cargo Village that Swissport is a strong contender for one of the coveted spots.
     The Swiss handler gave FlyingTypers a neutral answer when questioned about a possible move to the Middle East:
     “We cannot further comment on your question.
     “It’s still under evaluation and too early to make a firm statement.
     “In general, Swissport is always interested in new business opportunities, and that includes the Middle East.”
Siobhan Oswald