VZCZCXRO4983
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHDE #4348/01 1920757
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 110757Z JUL 06
FM AMCONSUL DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2165
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEANHA/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CDR USTRANSCOM SCOTT AFB IL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1617
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 5139
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

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 
---------------------- 
 
 
DUBAI 00004348  002 OF 003 
 
 
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 
 
DUBAI 00004348  003 OF 003 
 
 
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