Sheikh Hamdan says Dubai ready to take off as he reviews plans to revive tourism

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said Dubai is ready to take off again after reviewing plans to revive tourism and continue the emirate's economic growth amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Crown Prince of Dubai visited Dubai International Airport on Monday and chaired an Executive Council meeting at Terminal 3.

During the meeting, he said the airport was the "beating heart of the world" with Emirates airline as its artery.

He said he hoped Dubai would send a message of optimism to the world by "weathering the storm" and continuing its socio-economic development despite the challenges presented by Covid-19.

"We have learnt from Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, to defeat the impossible, and to turn the challenge into an opportunity to consolidate our achievements and benefit from our readiness and to rapidly adapt with new reality," he said.

"This experience has provided us with a significant boost ahead to maintain our achievements so Dubai remains the best city in various vital sectors, and to start a new phase with strength and competitiveness. Today, we are flying high and we are confident with our abilities as we demonstrated a distinctive experience of maintaining work and productivity and tackling challenges and triumphing over crises."

The council discussed the impact of the outbreak on emirate's economy and briefed Sheikh Hamdan on proposed plans to boost economic growth and revive the tourism sector.

"Dubai has cemented its position as a business and tourism destination that links the world. It has and will always be a tourism destination and the beating heart of economy, as it faced major global crisis and demonstrated once again its ability to over overcome it with a stunning model to emulate," Sheikh Hamdan said.

"Today, we are ready and we announce to the world that life continues, and impossible is not in our dictionary. And the good news is that things are good, and today we are more competitive to deal with the post Covid-19 era with confidence and innovative thinking to set a new model in dealing with pandemic and consolidating efforts."

Sheikh Hamdan then toured the airport. He met staff and praised them for their hard work.

Soon after, he shared an image of a First Class Emirates flight ticket with his name on it, set for London Heathrow and announced “coming soon”.

The Dubai airline resumed passenger flights to eight countries on Thursday, May 21, just before the Eid Al Fitr holiday. They were the first regular, non-repatriation flights out of Dubai since March 24.

The airline is currently flying from Dubai to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Chicago and Toronto, with a schedule in place until Tuesday, June 30. There are also flights to Sydney and Melbourne.