The boss of Dubai Airports is gearing up for a "enormous" increase in passenger numbers after the UK confirmed it would relax restrictions on travel from the UAE – but he admitted figures may not hit pre-pandemic level for another four years.
Paul Griffiths said the move to allow travellers from the Emirates to visit the UK without needing to quarantine – as long they are fully immunised with one of four approved vaccines – would be a huge boost to the aviation industry as the public embrace the "freedom to travel".
But he remained cautious about the road to a full recovery, admitting the airport may not return to its pre-pandemic levels until 2025.
Turbulent journey during pandemic
Mr Griffiths said the airport had been on a "turbulent journey" since the coronavirus outbreak, as the initial widespread grounding of flights and subsequent safety restrictions took their toll.
He said he hoped the recent easing of restrictions across the world would help the airport achieve between 35 to 40 per cent of its pre-Covid passenger numbers, which hit 86.4 million in 2019, by the end of this year.
He said the airport was operating at about 31 per cent of that capacity but believes that figure will rise significantly in the next 12 months.
"It's been a long, hard journey, quite a turbulent one, with ups and downs month on month, week on week," he told Dubai Eye radio's Business Breakfast.
"I think the real test will be the school half-term from northern Europe, where we are already starting to see some very, very busy days emerge for October.
"So we've got a little bit of a way to go. Now, we're expecting by the end of the year something like 26 million passengers, according to our latest forecast.
"Next year we're probably going to be about 56 or 57 million. This announcement might push that further north and hopefully by 2025 at the absolute latest I expect to be announcing numbers closer to those that we saw in 2019.
"I think it's probably quite a good idea for us to be a little bit conservative with our numbers and not plan to grow our production capacity too quickly because, of course, cash has been a massive challenge over the last 18 months. But I really do hope that I am being completely conservative and we will smash those numbers."
Demand for travel set to soar
In June, Emirates said it aimed to fly to 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic network by the end of the following month, operating 880 weekly services across 124 cities.
Mr Griffiths expects the "pent-up demand" from passengers freed from quarantine requirements to generate a surge in numbers flying through the airport in the coming weeks.
He described the UAE to UK travel changes as, "an absolutely enormous deal".
"I imagine if you have been a prisoner for some time and you're let out on parole, this must be exactly what it feels like, because it's just terrific now we're seeing all of the restrictions around the world just tumbled down. And I hope very soon we'll be back to DXB as we know and love it, you know the 2019 figures, hopefully, we'll be back with this very shortly," Mr Griffiths said.
He referred to Emirates' decision to increase its number of weekly flights from Dubai to UK to 77 by the end of October as testament to the progress being made.
"The thing we have missed most is that freedom to travel and now that's finally put to an end by the very excellent announcements we have.
"I'm sure that pent-up demand will be enormous, phones will be ringing off the hook, the internet will break. There will be a huge demand for air travel now that mobility is back on the agenda."
Vaccination the way forward
Mr Griffiths said moves by the UK and the US to open up to fully vaccinated travellers showed the importance of inoculation drives in aiding recovery from the pandemic.
The UAE has made a nationwide vaccination campaign central to its efforts to return to normality.
More than 19.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to the public in the Emirates since December, with more than 81 per cent people now having received two doses.
"I do believe that's always been the way forward," Mr Griffiths said. "I've been arguing that for many, many months – get your vaccine. The vaccine passport is coming. It is the only way to recover the travel industry and I think now everyone is recognising that."
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Company%C2%A0profile
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Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
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Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
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with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
