Tag Archives: Dubai Airports

Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports confirmed that while the airport operator is taking appropriate measures to control costs, optimise liquidity, facilitate cargo and repatriation flights and prepare for a timely and proportionate activation of facilities and services at Dubai International (DXB) to support the resumption of scheduled traffic, the timing and the speed of air traffic recovery will ultimately depend on the development of a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. “The COVID-19 pandemic is of a very different nature than any previous crisis in that it has affected supply, demand and health security and by extension the entire global economy,” said Griffiths. “We’re dealing with a monster here for which we clearly have to find a solution. Until there is a proven level of confidence medically that people can travel without fear of spreading or contracting the virus, the situation we find ourselves in is likely to continue.” “Until a medical solution is found, the industry will rely on bilateral agreements that enable the resumption of services. We will gradually start to see some confidence build between trusted countries where the governments have acted significantly enough and early enough to get the spread of the virus under control,” said Griffiths. “In the short term, until we get a medical and technical solution, we will have robust measures in place. And while we will all have to practice social distancing in the near term, the idea of social distancing as a permanent part of society would be so socially and economically destructive it would simply not be sustainable. We’re looking at an 18 month to two-year time frame but that is highly dependent upon the development of an effective treatment or …

Dubai Airports confirmed the safe and smooth launch of repatriation flights for Indian citizens from Dubai International’s Terminal 2 with the coordinated efforts of UAE authorities, the Indian Embassy in the UAE, airlines and other Dubai Airports’ service partners. All repatriation flights to India will be operated from Terminal 2 by India’s national carriers Air India and Air India Express until further notice. Dubai Airports has taken a number of steps to ensure the health and safety of airport staff and passengers during repatriation operations. Apart from the recently completed deep cleaning and sterilisation exercise spanning the entire facility, social distancing measures including signage, floor stickers and separated seating areas, have been implemented across DXB. Check-in counters and immigration desks have been fitted with Perspex screens to provide additional safety for staff, who are also required to wear personal protective equipment. Entry to the terminal is strictly limited to ticketed passengers carrying valid documents and wearing personal protective equipment. As part of the new pre-check-in procedure all passengers will receive thermal screening and/or a rapid antibody test, conducted by Dubai Health Authority’s Airport Medical Centre team. Dubai Airports has appealed to family and friends of passengers to help the repatriation operation and the fight against COVID-19 by saying their good-byes at home and avoid crowding at the airport.

Dubai Airports is working closely with its aviation and commercial partners and is planning for a gradual remobilisation once travel restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted. Under a business stabilisation framework, aviation partners, tenants and concessionaires have been provided with details of an assistance programme agreed by Dubai Airports. Dubai Airports has responded decisively to the COVID-19 crisis and is among the first airport operators to propose meaningful assistance to airline and commercial partners. The programme, which is applicable for the impacted period March 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020, includes waiving 100 per cent of minimum guarantees or equivalent fees for partners who have been required to cease trading due to the suspension of airport operations caused by the global pandemic. For partners that have maintained partial operations, other measures are in place to address the reduction in aviation activity, including rescheduling and other financial adjustments. “Flexibility is more important now than ever,” said Eugene Barry, Executive Vice President of Commercial at Dubai Airports. “Of paramount importance is that we protect and retain our aviation and business partnerships, which have been carefully built over a number of years, and ensure that our revenue and service drivers will be in a position to remobilise, in line with approvals from federal authorities. We have taken a number of unprecedented measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 to our own business, as well as those of our partners. By providing clarity and meaningful assistance to our business partners at this moment, we are confident that we will re-emerge to continue delivering the highest levels of assurance and service in a new commercial landscape, in which DXB and DWC will play …

Upping the ante on enhancing the customer experience at Dubai International (DXB), operator Dubai Airports has launched a high-tech system that monitors airport operations in real-time and visualises traffic flows to support consistently smooth operations at the world’s busiest airport. realtimeDXB, a bespoke cloud-based platform, gathers data generated by more than 50 operational systems, including those of Dubai Airports and its many service partners. It uses this information to keep all operational teams involved aware of not only the current scenarios but also developing situations anywhere from airfield to kerbside to anticipate challenges more accurately, facilitate greater collaboration between service partners, and quick decision-making. “As a system that makes key operational information visible in real-time to all service partners involved in the day-to-day running of the airport, realtimeDXB is a major step forward in our journey to develop common situational awareness. This system will be instrumental in the implementation of new concepts of airport operations such as Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) and Total Airport Management,” said Damian Ellacott, Vice President of the Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC), at Dubai Airports. “By increasing the flow of traffic, realtimeDXB system essentially adds capacity to a hub that’s located in the middle of the city and does not have the luxury to keep expanding its physical infrastructure,” said Lloyd Gozzett, Vice President of Customer Success at Dubai Airports. The use of real-time information and advanced smart gates is already helping enhance customer experience at DXB. In Q1 of 2019, the airport reduced customer wait-times by 30 per cent as a direct result of these systems.

Dubai Airports and China Eastern celebrated the arrival of the carrier’s inaugural flight from Qingdao to Dubai at Dubai International (DXB) on Saturday evening. The thrice weekly service is an important addition to China Eastern’s existing flights connecting DXB to Shanghai and Kunming, and the first ever to connect DXB to Qingdao, a major port city of 9 million population located on China’s Yellow Sea coast. China Eastern will operate three flights per week between the two cities, offering customers greater connectivity and convenience. A top trading partner of the UAE, China is a major contributor to DXB’s traffic with more than 3.5 million travellers in 2018. China is also one of the fastest growing countries in terms of volume of visitors to Dubai with numbers growing 12 per cent to 857,000 in 2018. A total of five airlines, including China Eastern, connect Dubai to 10 destinations across China on 81 weekly flights.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Dubai will be hosting the first Accessible Tourism International Summit from November 5 to 6 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC). Supported by the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing as Destination Partner, the first edition of the summit will be held under the theme of “making all cities friendly for tourists with disabilities” and aims at highlighting the challenges faced by about one billion People with Disabilities during their travel as visitors or tourists to cities around the world. The summit will also discuss the necessity to strengthen the legislations, laws, infrastructure and services catering to the needs of tourists with disabilities and their aspirations to explore the world with ease. “The UAE has done a great deal on its course to achieve its vision of becoming a friendly country for People with Disabilities. This summit falls within this framework and aims to share insights, experiences and best practices and translate these into a concrete practice bound to enable over one billion people to reach their destination with ease,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Patron of the summit. Dubai is working hard to achieve its vision of becoming a friendly city for people with disabilities by 2020, with all concerned entities in the Emirate working to achieve this goal by implementing the relevant laws and regulations in place and adapting smart solutions to provide the best services for this segment, especially with Dubai targeting 25 million tourists in 2025. …

Dubai Airports confirmed operations teams at both airports are ‘good to go’ for the commencement of the 45-day long refurbishment of the southern runway at Dubai International (DXB). The runway is nearing the end of its design life and requires a complete upgrade to accommodate future traffic growth. “Planning and preparations have been underway for almost two years in close coordination with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, airlines, dnata, the regulator and a host of other service partners to make sure this massive project goes off without a hitch. We’re confident we are fully prepared and good to go for April 16. We are encouraging passengers to confirm their airport of departure before they set out to take their flights but otherwise they can expect smooth operations and great service ,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports. The main visible difference for passengers will be a potential change in airports, although scheduling experts have optimised DXB’s one runway operation to the point where there will be only a 29% reduction in the number of available seats. Thanks to the additional capacity provided by DWC, the number of flights across the Dubai Airport system will see a reduction of just 19% and a seat reduction of just 20%. Many customers will get to experience the speed and convenience of Dubai’s second airport Dubai World Central (DWC) for the first time during the closure as it takes on additional traffic from affected scheduled, charter, cargo and general aviation operations. DWC will handle an average of 145 passenger flights per day operated during the period by airlines including flydubai, Wizz Air, Aeroflot, Indigo, SpiceJet, Gulf Air, Ukraine International Airlines, Ural Airlines, Nepal Airlines, Kuwait Airways …

Dubai Airports has unveiled a new brand for Dubai International (DXB) that signifies Dubai Airports’ transition from airport operator to a consumer-led company to elevate the airport customer experience. The brand launch event was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports; Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Airports, as well as VVIPs of Dubai’s aviation industry, senior management of DXB, key industry stakeholders and global media. The new brand embodies the unique values of Dubai, demonstrating unmatched hospitality, a culture of imagination, openness to new ideas and a mesmerising mosaic of exciting and inspiring experiences. It will transform DXB into a destination in itself by creating exciting, immersive virtual experiences that bring iconic Dubai landmarks into the airport as well as an array of music, art, dance and even fashion exhibitions that showcase local culture and celebrate diversity. DXB will also feature zones throughout the airport’s concourses that cluster together retail, F&B and themed attractions to cater to DXB’s diverse customer base. Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Airports, said, “We are proud to launch the new DXB brand to reflect the fresh direction and truly transform DXB into the airport of the future, one that is led by a more customer-centric approach, that incorporates the hospitality, excitement, warmth and true spirit of Dubai. The new brand represents the ways in which we connect the world, not only by physically facilitating access to over 220 destinations around the world but also by transporting our customers through their experience of different cultures, food, music …

H E Eng Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Chairman, General Civil Aviation Authority, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Airports; President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group and H E Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General, General Civil Aviation Authority inaugurated the Global Investment in Aviation Summit (GIAS) on January 28. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the ceremony to develop and expand cooperation for the establishment of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Global Aviation Award (SMBRGAA). The MoU will serve to stablish and implement joint efforts to promote the development of international civil aviation in a safe and orderly manner. The opening ceremony of the summit included a series of keynote speeches and panel discussions for the senior policy-makers and business leaders to share their knowledge and expertise, and to extrapolate the current economic situation and opportunities. In his welcome speech, Al Mansouri said, “I am honoured to welcome you all on behalf of the United Arab Emirates government at the Global Investment in Aviation Summit, under the theme ‘Linking Developed and Emerging Markets through Attractive Aviation Investment Opportunities’. This global marketplace aims to promote investment and enhance international air navigation by encouraging discussions and agreements between governments and decision-makers and investors.” He also stressed that by the year 2034, civil aviation will witness double increase in number of passengers compared to previous years. This will lead to the emergence of the need to implement modernisation and expansion of high-quality airport infrastructure, requiring more investment to match the …

Dubai Airports, along with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and representatives from aviation sector and the emirate of Dubai recently welcomed its billionth passenger at Dubai International Airport (DXB). Nine-year-old Arjun and his family arrived from Orlando, Florida. At a celebration held in DXB, Arjun, along with his mother Ramya, father Venkatesh and thirteen-year-old brother Varun, were personally greeted by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Airports. The family was delighted with details of an unforgettable and surprising set of experiences that showcase Dubai’s longstanding reputation for excitement, luxury and modern Arabic hospitality, organised for the next few days of their trip. At the airport, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Airports, said, “This landmark billionth-passenger achievement is the result of team work and collaboration, and special thanks goes out to each and every member of the airport community who have played a role in this journey. Of course, we would not be in this position if it weren’t for the visionary leadership of HH Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler, Dubai both of whom foresaw the development of Dubai into a global centre for trade, tourism and commerce enabled by a fast-growing and world-leading aviation sector with top-flight airport infrastructure.” The billionth customer is arguably the most significant in a long litany of achievements since the airport first opened on September 30, 1960. Today, the hub is widely considered a benchmark for its quality infrastructure, passenger and cargo volumes and high-service levels despite unrelenting …