Paul Griffiths travel tips

As air traffic booms, Dubai’s two airports are planning a massive expansion.

Dubai is no stranger to building things and tearing them down, and one day, its global airport could meet the same fate.

Dubai confirmed Sunday it would be shifting its airport operations from the current Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport “within the next 10 years.”

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates has had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more in the 3 days following Tuesday’s thunderstorm, Emirates President Tim Clark wrote in an open letter to customers on Saturday.

Over 1,200 flights have been canceled and 40 diverted in Dubai since an immense flash flood ground the city to a halt on Tuesday. It’s been three days since the storm and Dubai International Airport is still scrambling, however, CEO Paul Griffiths says the hub is “100% operational.”

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, March 12. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Last year, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths landed at JFK and it took him four-and-a-half-hours to get through immigration. 

The Dubai International Airport, known as DXB, has surged in a post-pandemic world.

In the dynamic world of air travel, sustainable growth and adapting to shifting demographics stand as both opportunities and challenges.

Corporate events have, at times, gotten a bad rep. The same people, in the same grey suits, exchange the same predigested questions and pre-prepared answers. As someone who has attended many such events and conferences over the years, this has remained excruciatingly true.

Dubai will play an outsized role in the United Arab Emirates aim to attract 40 million visitors annually by 2031, so what can it do to improve its tourism industry? Four panelists — Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths, Kerzner International CEO Philippe Zuber, Emirates Airline Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim, and Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing CEO Issam Kazim — discussed at the recent Skift Global Forum East in Dubai what local tourism officials need to do to continue to attract visitors.

Dubai’s main airport registered a 55.8 percent increase in passenger traffic in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, reaching 95.6 percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, operator Dubai Airports said on Tuesday.

Dubai International Airport announced on Tuesday that it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year, exceeding figures for the same period in 2019.