New airports, aircraft: wealthy Gulf prepares for aviation boom

Dubai, UAE : With major new airports emerging from the desert and aircraft orders rolling in, the resource rich Gulf is raising its stake in an indust...

Dubai, UAE : With major new airports emerging from the desert and aircraft orders rolling in, the resource-rich Gulf is raising its stake in an industry forecast to boom in the decades ahead.

As the International Air Transport Association's AGM takes place this week in Dubai -- two years after it was held in Qatar -- billions of dollars are being poured into aviation around the wealthy region.

And with good reason: according to the global industry body, Middle East passenger traffic will double in the next 20 years, climbing to 530 million passengers by 2043. Global figures will see a similar rise.

Dubai, which is already home to the world's busiest airport by international traffic, has started work on an even larger airport which authorities say will handle up to 260 million passengers annually, which would be the biggest in the world.

A short drive away, the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi opened a new terminal in November, while Qatar has also been expanding Doha's Hamad International Airport.