Abu Dhabi, Beijing airports seek to boost all-round cooperation

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) said it signed a deal with China's Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) on Tuesday to strengthen all-round cooperation between the two international aviation hubs.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, acting chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, and Liu Xuesong, chairman of BCIA, at BCIA's headquarters in Beijing.

The agreement sets the stage for mutually beneficial collaboration between the two airports through knowledge and experience sharing, AUH said in an e-mailed statement.

They will look to collaborate in areas such as staff training and management including terminal operations, airside management, route development and commercial management, it added.

The MoU also allows for cooperation on joint projects that will have positive returns on both entities such as hub development, airport planning, and service quality evaluation.

"This MoU will be the base for an ongoing strategic partnership and future collaboration between AUH and BCIA," said Al Khoori.

AUH is the base hub for the UAE's national carrier Etihad Airways, which offered the first direct flights from the UAE to Beijing in April 2008.