Tag Archives: Dubai Airports

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General, General Directorate, Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA-D) has said that by 2030, the smart gates at Dubai airports will replace passport officials’ platforms with a view to reducing the human involvement factor in application of Dubai’s 10X initiative. Delivering the welcome address at the Airport Security Middle East conference on the second day of the 18th edition of Airports Show, Al Marri said, “We have created smart gates projects in an exclusive and modern way, and these amount now to about 122 smart gates. We have created a number of smart projects in Dubai international airports, the latest of which is “Next-Generation Departure” project, which will enable passengers complete their travel procedures in the least time possible.” Delivering the opening keynote address, Col Hamooda Belsuwaida Alameri, Assistant Director General Operations at General Department of Airport Security, Dubai Police said, “Dubai police has plans to coordinate its human resources and capabilities to ensure security at airports. The airport security challenges are land side security, cyber security and security check points. Airports, the police and the security agencies need to collaborate and exchange information as well as to do risk assessments to ensure security on all fronts.” Technologies have been put into strategies and plans to have security checkpoints of the future to make Dubai airports safe and secure for all our clients, he added.

Dubai Parks and Resorts and Dubai Airports have announced a strategic partnership with the aim of creating an unparalleled airport experience while showcasing Dubai’s position as the ultimate tourist and family entertainment destination in the region. The partnership will showcase Dubai Airports’ efforts to make Dubai International (DXB) a destination in its own while promoting the breadth of offer at Dubai Parks and Resorts to the over 88 million passengers travelling through Dubai Airport annually. The agreement will see Dubai Parks and Resorts promoted at all DXB concourses with access to over 65 airlines flying to and from over 240 destinations in 170 countries around the globe. Dubai Parks and Resorts will engage and delight airport passengers by providing branded family zones and dedicated retail locations selling Dubai Parks and Resorts products while enticing them to experience the full offer by conducting direct marketing and immersive advertising. Dubai International (DXB), the world’s busiest international airport, recorded a 10% average passenger growth over the past 10 years with 88.2 million passengers passing through it in 2017, and some 90 million passengers are expected in 2018. 2018 is the first full year of operations for Dubai Parks and Resorts and the Company aims to continue growing international tourist visitor numbers to the destination in line with the Dubai Tourism Vision 2020. The first quarter of 2018, set a new record for Dubai Parks and Resorts, with over 850,000 visits to the destination, a 45% increase compared to the same period last year.  

According to the monthly traffic report, Dubai International (DXB) welcomed nearly 7 million passengers in February. The monthly traffic in February totalled 6,928,547 compared to 6,948,157 passengers recorded during the same month in 2017, down marginally by 0.3 per cent. The year to date traffic reached 14,888,693 passengers, down 0.6% compared to 14,985,165 recorded during the first two months of 2017. In terms of percentage growth, Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding market with traffic growing 17.6%, followed by South America (13.3%) and CIS (12.1%). India remained the top destination country by passenger volume with a total of 962,425 passengers during the month. The UK was placed second with 505,255 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 490,058 and Pakistan with 336,875 passengers. London topped the list of destination cities with 305,768 passengers, followed by Mumbai (207,038 passengers) and Bangkok (201,077). Flight movements at DXB totalled 31,456 in February, down 3.2% compared to 32,486 during the same period in 2017. Year to date flight movements totalled 66,762 compared to 69,078* recorded during the first two months last year, down 3.4%. The average number of passengers per movement during February reached 228 compared to 223 during the corresponding month in 2017, an increase of 2.2%.

Dubai Airports has confirmed plans to close Dubai International’s (DXB) southern runway for a 45-day period in 2019 to conduct a comprehensive upgrade designed to boost safety, service and capacity levels. The upgrade work is scheduled to take place from April 16 to May 30 when passenger traffic historically ebbs due to a seasonal lull. The southern runway refurbishment project will involve the placement of approximately 60,000 tonnes of asphalt and 8,000m3 of concrete to strengthen and resurface the runway and the adjacent taxiways. While ongoing runway maintenance is scheduled on a weekly basis, more extensive upgrades require a complete closure of the runway. Dubai Airports will also use the opportunity to install 800 km of primary cables and replace over 5,500 runway lights with more modern, economic and environment friendly technology. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports said, “In the months ahead, we will be working closely with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, airlines and other stakeholders to ensure we optimise service and capacity during this period next year and minimise the impact on our customers. While we regret any inconvenience this may cause to our airline customers and passengers, these upgrades are absolutely necessary to heighten safety, boost capacity and pave the way for future growth.”

According to the latest report issued by Dubai Airports, passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) exceeded 7.9 million in January. DXB welcomed a total of 7,960,146 passengers in January, a small reduction of 1 per cent compared to 8,037,008 recorded in January 2017 when passenger volumes were boosted due to Chinese New Year which fell in February this year. South America was the top region in terms of percentage growth during the month (22.6%), followed by CIS (19.7%) – with a bulk of the increase resulting from the surge on routes like Moscow, Baku, and Kazan among others, and Africa (6.4%) propelled by the launch of new services by Med View and Emirates on routes to Abuja and doubling of Emirates’ services to Lagos. “With passenger numbers nearing 8 million during the first month of the year, we’ve had a very encouraging start to 2018,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports. “What’s even more encouraging is that processes and technologies we have implemented recently are creating a smoother experience for our customers despite the high traffic volumes.” In terms of passenger numbers, routes to the Indian subcontinent topped the list with 1,100,477 passengers followed by Saudi Arabia (650,822 passengers), and the UK (547,286 passengers). London was the top destination city with 333,286 passengers, followed by Kuwait (231,956 passengers) and Mumbai (225,776 passengers).

Dubai Airports has joined Dubai’s aviation community in signing a pledge to purchase only ‘green vehicles’ in the future. The pledge was signed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports; President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and representatives from Emirates airline, flydubai, dnata, Dubai Police, Dubai Customs and Dubai’s General Directory of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA). “This commitment is fully aligned with the Dubai government’s aggressive goals to reduce energy consumption by 30 per cent by 2030 as well as our sector’s strategy to limit our environmental footprint while continuing our significant contributions to Dubai’s employment and GDP,” said Al Maktoum. DXB is home to a fleet of over 6,345 ground service vehicles comprising various types ranging from water tankers to tow tractors to fork lifts operated by a number of companies that operate on the airfield including airlines, control authorities and ground handling services provider dnata. Of these DXB features a variety of green vehicles including BMW hybrid limousines for VIP services and RTA’s fleet of Tesla taxis but wants to scale up efforts to convert the fleet to top hybrid or electric models.

Dubai Airports, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) and Emaratech marked the completion of the installation of 20 smart gates at Dubai International’s (DXB) Terminal 1. The new smart gates are now fully operational in the arrivals area of Terminal 1 in addition to the 10 installed last year in departures. In total, some 127 smart gates are available across the entire airport reducing average transaction times from minutes to under 10-15 seconds. The launch of the new smart gates coincides with the start of UAE’s Month of Innovation, which is being observed from February 1 to 28 in response to a call last year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, to promote a culture of innovation. “Smart gates make customers’ journey smoother by slashing transaction times to just 10-15 seconds and shortening queues,” said Michael Ibbitson, Executive Vice President—Technology & Infrastructure, Dubai Airports. “What’s surprising is that only 17 per cent of our passengers take advantage of the service. If you have a UAE residency card, don’t wait in line, use it.”

Passenger traffic at the Dubai International Airport (DXB) reached 6,953,596 in November compared to 6,581,805 recorded in the corresponding month in 2016, an increase of 5.6 per cent, as per a latest report. Year to date, passenger numbers at DXB have risen 5.8 per cent to 80,387,442 compared to 75,947,899 recorded during the same period in 2016. This upward trend in passenger traffic has been continuing during the past year at Dubai Airports. Once again, the most significant contribution to passenger numbers came from the Indian Subcontinent and Western Europe. The two regions were up 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, and more than 1.5 million passengers travelled through DXB from each region in November. These figures were reflected in the top cities, where London (310,551) and Mumbai (217,279) were the highest. For the first time in four months, Saudi Arabia (534,906) climbed to the second spot in terms of passenger numbers by country, moving in front of the UK (507,796). India (999,625) remained the top destination country for Dubai International. November’s flight movement figures at DXB totalled 33,421 down 3.7 per cent on 2016, however the average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 215, up 7.3 per cent year on year.

In a ceremonial event, Dubai Airports welcomed Nigerian airline Med-View from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) via Abuja (ABV) to Dubai International (DXB) with a traditional water salute. The airline, which operates into DXB’s Concourse D, offers travellers three weekly flights on Boeing B777 and B767 aircraft from Lagos via Abuja to Dubai. A cake cutting ceremony was attended by Muneer A. Bankole, CEO, Med-View; Khalil Lamrabet, Director Aviation Business Development, Dubai Airports and Saood Kankazar, Executive Director, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.

Ahead of the International Civil Aviation Day on December 7, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group stated that smart services at airports and in air navigation reflect the UAE’s commitment to ensuring safe, secure and environment-friendly aviation network. “Through efficient implementation of ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices, Dubai and the UAE are ensuring safe and secured air travel for passengers around the world. I consider the theme for this year, ‘Working together to ensure no country is left behind’, highly important in the light of the increasing international air transportation between states.” Maktoum said. The purpose of International Civil Aviation Day is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to the social and economic development of states, and of the unique role of ICAO in helping states to cooperate and realise a truly global rapid transit network at the service of all mankind.