Dubai's Geographic Location and Its Advantages for the Air

Research Note / Note de recherche Dubai’s Geographic Location and Its Advantages for the Air Transportation Industry Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/awg/article-pdf/19/3-4/352/1449642/i1480-6800_19_3_352.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Jamal M. al-Mehairi Independent Scholar, Dubai, United Arab Emirates [email protected] In recent years, air transport in Dubai has shown huge growth in cargo volumes, passenger numbers, and air routes—as well as the expansion of Dubai International Airport and the new Al-Maktoum Airport—in part because of Dubai’s location in contrast to other Gulf States in terms of transportation facilities and economic activ - ities. The three main objectives of this article are, first, to demonstrate the impor - tance and clarify the role of Dubai’s geographic location in developing its air-transport sector; second, to illustrate the types of development related to the location of Dubai over time; and, third, by means of regression analysis, to support the forecasting and growth of passengers through Dubai airport based on data from 2007 through 2015. Keywords: geographic location, air transportation, open skies policy, Dubai, airport, cargo, regression analysis Introduction People’s mobility is controlled by many spatial factors (Cresswell 2011), the most important of which is geographic location. Dubai, an emirate located on the south-east coast of the Arabian Gulf, has a long history of trade and pearl diving in the Arabian Peninsula. Since the foundation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, the region has experienced enormous geographic changes, which have affected many fields and had an impact on life as a whole. The air transport system has been significantly influ - enced by strategic factors related to the geographic location of Dubai. Recently, many well-known destination cities around the world— including Amsterdam, Memphis, and Dubai—have attempted to change their functional structure so as to be viewed as airport cities, or “aerotropolises” (Kasarda and Lindsay 2012). In contrast to the situation several decades ago, Dubai has diversified away from oil production as a major source of income, relying instead on other innovative, viable, and sustainable sources of income. As a commercial city with a strong focus on international air transport, Dubai has sought to be the world-preferred centre for air travel. The Dubai The Arab World Geograph er / Le Géographe du monde arabe Vol 19, no 3-4 (2016) 352 -367 © 2016 Geo Publishing, Toronto Canada Dubai’s Location & its Advantages for Transportation Industry 353 Emirate has established a strong relationship with many Eastern and Western countries in terms of the movement of passengers, cargo, and aircraft regionally and globally. In 2015, Dubai International Airport recorded 78 million passengers, a 10.7 % increase over 2014 (Dubai Statistics Centre 2016). The concept of strategic location is not always a perfect explanation Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/awg/article-pdf/19/3-4/352/1449642/i1480-6800_19_3_352.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 for development, because the significance of a place is more strongly affected by the role of human factors in that place (Healy and Ilbery 1990). In this context, the Arabian Gulf countries are particularly concerned about what measures must be taken by the airport and avia - tion industry in the post-oil era. For the past 20 years, Dubai has witnessed huge developments in its air services industry. Such developments have led to strategic changes in the urban infrastructure of the surrounding cities and their operations. Many believe that such fast and dramatic growth in air transport systems has significantly upgraded the role of Dubai as a location of choice. The main objectives of this paper, therefore, are (1) to discusses the importance of Dubai’s geographic location in developing the air trans - port sector and to better understand the effects of this spatial factor on Dubai’s development; and (2) to clarify the type of development that has increased Dubai’s importance in terms of regional and global movement. Historical Background In the 19th and 20th centuries, the dominance of sea power played a significant role in changing the geography of countries in all parts of the world and especially in the Arabian Peninsula, where Portugal, Great Britain, and other European countries were the dominant powers. These powers played a role in shaping the commercial and political features of the area and helped enforce security, facilitating trade to the east. Before this time, Dubai was a small fishing village (Heard-Bey 1996) that relied on sea transport as a source of general trade, fishing, and pearl trade, all of which, over time, helped to develop the city and the surrounding areas. Most transportation was in small boats, which moved people and goods in the shallow, sandy Dubai Creek and loaded cargo onto commercial ships off the Dubai coast. Commercial ships served India, the east coast of Africa, and north of the Gulf by regular routes on which a variety of cargo and items such as spices, wood, and other materials were transported. A major function of the regional seaport was to re-export cargo to other small cities along the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Air transport in Dubai began in 1937 when the first “flying boats” (fixed-wing seaplanes or float planes) landed on Dubai Creek, a transit The Arab World Geographer / Le Géographe du monde arabe Vol 19, no 3-4 (2016) 354 Jamal M. al-Mehairi point for Imperial Airways to connect with their bases in India (Fenelon 1973). The British presence in the Gulf significantly facilitated the growth of the transport sector there, thanks to journeys by British citizens to India and South Asia. The Royal Air Route connected England and India. This integration influenced the political environment of the Arabian Gulf, and especially that of the “Trucial states,” which later Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/awg/article-pdf/19/3-4/352/1449642/i1480-6800_19_3_352.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 became the United Arab Emirates. Several locations within the Trucial states were candidates to become air-transport hubs, with airstrips and refuelling stations for British aircraft. Initially, attention focused on the western coast, which was considered a more convenient landing venue, but Dubai’s significance as a strategic location, and particularly its convenience, could not be ignored. In addition, the ruler of Dubai in the 1930s played a crucial role in realizing the importance of air services for the city’s image and, hence, its effect in attracting more trade and commercial activities to the region (Burchall 1933). The government’s obvious willingness could be seen as a first step towards the development of air transport in Dubai. The “Open Skies” Policy On 22 July 1937, Captain Tom Hickinbotham, British political agent in the Trucial States, signed the Dubai Commercial Air Agreement. This agreement triggered the “Open Skies” policy of Dubai, which many consider to have paved the way for the creation of the world’s third largest passenger hub in just 75 years (Ramzan 2012). It is probable that the nature of the people living in the area at the time and their enthusiasm for their would-be role in the future played an important role in shaping that future. Historically, Dubai has been keen to promote its positive growth in the transport world, especially maritime transport, by making use of its geographic location (Jacobs and Hall 2007). The vision of the government of the 1930s focused on trade and commercial activities as its major functions to promote the city, with the goal of encouraging as many merchants and companies as possible from other nearby regions to consider Dubai as their base. The city of Dubai was transformed, becoming known as the “Port City” and a centre of major trade routes linking regional ports in the Gulf. Ultimately, the city built its strategic hub as an international desti - nation of choice. This international image depended heavily on re-export trade; Dubai became a major hub of such operations and services in the Middle East and beyond. Dubai’s position as a major port city in the Gulf and, ultimately, the largest port in the world was aided by many factors in addition to its geographic location. Ramos (2010) cites several factors that led to the emer - The Arab World Geographer / Le Géographe du monde arabe Vol 19, no 3-4 (2016) Dubai’s Location & its Advantages for Transportation Industry 355 gence of Dubai as a commercial and trade centre in the Gulf; Pacione (2005) notes that its regional economic importance was reinforced as early as 1904, when steamships went into service between Dubai and Bombay. Air Transport in the Dubai Emirate Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/awg/article-pdf/19/3-4/352/1449642/i1480-6800_19_3_352.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Another great advantage of Dubai’s location is the Dubai Creek, a natural waterway bypass that penetrates the land for approximately 13 km, which has enhanced the attractiveness of Dubai and emphasized the importance of both sea and air transport for businesses. Dubai Creek and its port facilities, fuel stations, warehousing, and shipping activity have facilitated Dubai’s recognition as an “international” base for people around the world. The Creek became Dubai’s first “airport” when the first Imperial Airways flying boats landed and departed from it. In the Gulf, air transportation is a major means both of movement and of the development of commercial networks, thanks to the existence of major hubs for both passengers and cargo, which have facilitated effec - tive and efficient “instant” links from Europe to Australia and New Zealand through Dubai.

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