Dubai airport will take some time to get back to pre-Covid times

Just 20.7 million people squeezed through the airport so far this year — a 74 per cent drop from before the Coronavirus hit in 2019

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The Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, handled 20 per cent more passenger traffic in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year. Even so, a full recovery remains years away. Just 20.7 million people squeezed through the airport so far this year — a 74 per cent drop from before the Coronavirus hit in 2019. CEO Paul Griffiths said the figure, however, points to a sharp turn in fortunes for the crucial east-west transit hub that was virtually flattened by the pandemic.

“We’re still optimistic for recovery being very strong,” Griffiths was quoted by The Associated Press. “It’s going to be a couple of years, but I hope I’m wrong,” he added.

Some 6.7 million passengers passed through the airport over the third quarter, with flights surging 17 per cent between January and September compared to the same period last year. In 2020, the airport slashed 34 per cent of its staff and kept on hold a main terminal as the coronavirus closed borders around the world. “Growth is returning very strongly,” Griffiths said, citing a 40 per cent spike in bookings last month. The airport is gearing up for flying to rebound at the year’s end, betting that accelerating vaccinations and relaxing travel curbs will allow Europeans to flee wintry weather for Dubai’s beaches and tourists to visit the giant world’s fair in the city that runs until March.

As demand for long-haul travel picks up and more superjumbo jets fill the skies, the airport’s dedicated A380 terminal, Concourse A, will return to life later this month, Griffiths said

Griffiths said confidence also grew with the loosening of travel restrictions from India and Pakistan, which remained the airport’s largest market this quarter and routinely send legions of laborers and visitors to the United Arab Emirates. Airlines have expanded their flying schedules as the United States recently welcomed vaccinated Europeans and India reopened for quarantine-free tourism.

The Middle East’s biggest carrier, Emirates, reported receiving an additional USD 681 million from the Dubai government earlier this month, bringing the total cash aid close to USD 3.8 billion as it posted USD 1.6 billion in losses for the third quarter. As demand for long-haul travel picks up and more superjumbo jets fill the skies, the airport’s dedicated A380 terminal, Concourse A, will return to life later this month, Griffiths said. “We’ve been cash positive throughout the pandemic and not relied on any subsidy from any other entity,” Griffiths added, while acknowledging that the region’s airlines have struggled with the slow return of long-haul and business trips.

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