DUBAI: The opening of the passenger terminal at Dubai's new airport will be further delayed to 2012, but the emirate's air industry should benefit from unrest in the Arab world, the chief executive of Dubai Airports said. "Over the next year or so, we are adding larger aircrafts and higher passenger numbers," Paul Griffiths said Sunday. "It (Al Maktoum airport) will become a scheduled passenger and cargo airport during 2012." Griffiths said the regional unrest saw tourists re-routing their travels from regional hotspots to Dubai, benefiting its economy. "I don't think the unrest in Egypt or other parts in the Middle East and North Africa is having any negative effect at all. Actually, I think it is quite positive," he said. "Some people that were considering other areas are coming to Dubai because they are seeing it as a very stable place to be," he said. The opening of the Al Maktoum airport, estimated to cost around $34 billion, to passengers had been already delayed to the last quarter of 2011 from March. Dubai's second airport, billed as the world's largest when it becomes fully operational, should have an expected passenger capacity of up to 160 million people a year. Dubai, known for opulent hotels and artificial palm-shaped islands, has so far escaped the regional unrest, which started in December. Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport jumped by 10 percent to 4.25 million in January from a year ago.
