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Cover image courtesy of Rubberball / Mike Kemp / Getty Images .

Issue 3 Volume 18

3 Opinion

10 News

12 Busy times

Joe Bates looks back at some of the highlights from the recent ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly , Conference and Exhibition in Phuket .

15 Game on

Africa learnt more about the airport city phenomenon at the recent Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition ( ACE ) in Ekurhuleni , writes Steven Thompson .

16 ACI news

19 View from the top

ACI director general , Angela Gittens , reflects on the importance of putting passengers first and the need to do more to promote a more positive public perception of airports .

20 Passage to India

Oliver Clark talks to GVK Power and Infrastructure Limited chairman , Sanjay Reddy , about his company ’ s plans to modernise its airports in India and further afield .

24 Cautious optimism

An airline merger and a $ 6.5 billion capital improvement programme promise to breathe new life into Philadelphia International Airport , writes Nicole Nelson .

28 Airport profitability

Despite the sizeable commercial profits of some of the world ’ s biggest gateways , the majority of airports lose money . Graham Newton asks why and if anything can be done to reverse the trend .

34 New money

Is the airport industry going to be the next big beneficiary of Islamic financing ? Umar Moghul considers its merits and appeal for gateways looking to fund key construction projects .

36 China ’ s mission

Peter Morris and Joanna Lu report on the financial challenges facing China ’ s airports as the country bids to upgrade its infrastructure to cope with future growth .