Dubai airport aims for 90 million passengers in 2017

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths has said he wants to bring 90 million passengers through Dubai International Airport by the end of 2017 – an achievement that would beat its initial target by three years.

Speaking to Gulf Business, the chief executive said the rapid rise in passengers would confirm the airport’s standing as the biggest of its kind.

“By the end of 2017 we want to achieve 90 million passengers through Dubai International Airport,” he said.

“This will consolidate our position as the world’s largest international airport and would actually exceed our forecasts. If we achieve it by the end of next year that would be three years earlier than our target for 2020.”

In February this year Dubai International Airport opened Concourse D, boosting its annual capacity from 75 million passengers to 90 million. At the time, Griffiths projected a total of 85 million visitors to the airport during 2016.

The CEO added that Dubai Airports’ immediate focus is on growth, and “making that growth sustainable by making sure every initiative we have has a commercial return to fund that growth,” but struck a realistic tone when discussing the consistency of such growth.

“We are obsessed about our quality of service and are determined to delight every customer who comes through the airport. But of course this gets exponentially more difficult as we cope with growth within a constrained economic environment.”