Doha International Airport Wins Key Middle East Airport Award
February 13, 2008 – Doha International Airport has won key honours at the inaugural Middle East And North Africa airport awards supported by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry research house.
Named for having the Best Airport Airline Partnership in the region, Doha International Airport beat off stiff competition from its regional neighbours to earn the accolade.
The award, presented to Doha International Airport and Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker by Skytrax managing director Edward Plaisted, recognised the airport’s achievements in working effectively with regional and global airlines.
The ceremony was held during the inaugural two-day Airport Expansion Middle East Conference hosted by Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority in Doha this week.
Al Baker said the award clearly demonstrated that airlines and airports needed to work together to maximise business opportunities for each other for the benefit of travellers.
In a keynote presentation later on the ‘Effectiveness of Airport and Airline Partnerships’, he said that strong strategic partnerships between airport operators and airline users were vital for long-term planning and efficient delivery of service levels to the ultimate user – the consumer.
Cooperation, he explained, meant working towards a unified approach, stressing neither airlines nor airports could survive without each other. He said the key to economic growth was building a strong airport and airline infrastructure to facilitate inward and outward trade and investment and give the travelling public greater choice.
Earlier, Al Baker called for a more unified approach among Arab nations towards a true open skies environment giving airlines freer access to each other’s markets for the benefit of consumers.
Speaking on a panel discussion ‘Open Skies’ with regional aviation industry officials, he advocated the need for true open skies across the entire region.
He said open skies required a unified approach by countries across the region which, he stressed, would benefit the entire Middle East, and help meet the demands of huge air traffic forecasts within the region and, to and from the region. More freedom for airlines to fly routes with no restrictions would lead to greater and, more importantly, healthier competition, added Al Baker.
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