By As Dubai’s two main international airports continue to see strong passenger traffic despite issues like the US electronic ban and other economic issues affecting travel, the Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffith, on Tuesday, projected that there is strong likelihood for the two airports to have received 100 million passengers by the end of 2017.
“By the end of 2017, across the two Dubai airports, we are likely to hit the 100 million mark and as we edge up to 2025, we believe the demand for air travel through Dubai will be 142.8 million.”
Dubai International Airport, an airport with 127 smart-gates, remained the world’s busiest for international passengers in 2016, with annual traffic rising 7.2 per cent year-on-year to 83.6 million passengers.
The major challenge of the land-lock city is how to meet up with the 118 million target by 2023 amid ongoing capacity constraints – though Griffith believes that with the smart application of technology and enhanced processes, it is highly possible for 118-million-passenger target for 2023 to be achieved.
“The idea is if you can double the throughput of the terminal, you can double the capacity at significantly less cost than to build a brand new airport terminal.”
In addition to this, aviation is expected to contribute $88.1bn to Dubai’s economy by 2030, accounting for 45 per cent of the city’s GDP as the aviation ministry has also projected to provide 1,194,700 jobs, around 35 per cent of total employment.
Griffith further said it is close to opening and finalising the expansion of the airport terminal at Dubai World Central which will yield capacity of 26m by 2018. Phase 2, scheduled to open 2025, will raise capacity to 120 million.