Name: Dubai Airports targets annual traffic of $124M by 2032
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T08:53:15.813Z
Duration: 5 min 34 s
Description: Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths says that Dubai is cementing its position as the world’s busiest international hub, with record-breaking passenger volumes and strong growth momentum.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths says that Dubai is cementing its position as the world’s busiest international hub, with record-breaking passenger volumes and strong growth momentum.

Dubai International Airport

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has announced its highest-ever quarterly passenger traffic, welcoming over 24 million travelers in the third quarter and surpassing 70 million for the first nine months of the year. The airport remains the world's largest international hub for the 11th consecutive year, with projections to reach 95.2 million passengers by year-end and potentially exceed 100 million within two years.

To accommodate this growth, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths detailed plans for expanding infrastructure, including the development of Dubai World Central (DWC) Phase 2, supported by a $3.5 billion pledge from the UK government. By 2032, the combined capacity of DXB and DWC is expected to reach 124 million passengers annually, presenting a significant logistical challenge as new aircraft and routes are introduced.

Dubai Airports targets annual traffic of $124M by 2032

Dubai International Airport this morning also announcing its highest ever traffic levels in its 65-year history. DXB welcomed over 24 million passengers in the third quarter. That's up nearly 2 percent from a year earlier. That surge has pushed total passenger traffic for the first nine months of the year to over 70 million passengers. Its rolling 12-month traffic also hit a record of more than 93 million as of September. Flight activity also remains strong. The airport recorded 115,000 flights in the third quarter alone, while total flights for the first nine months of the year rose nearly 3 percent from last year. Wow, these are some huge numbers. So let's bring in Paul Griffiths now. He's the CEO of Dubai Airports. Joining me live from the Dubai Airshow this morning, Paul, warm welcome to the program. As you've just heard, their DXB delivering its highest quarterly traffic in 65 years. This is a huge milestone for the airport. What's driving demand at this pace? And hey, do you think it's sustainable? Good morning. Good morning, and you join me, Dan, from the fantastic background of the 200 aircraft on display at the Dubai Airshow this month. And yes, those numbers are continuing to break records. We're cementing our position as the world's largest international airport for the 11th year running, with 70.1 million recorded year-to-date to September. Still on track for 95.2 million by the end of the year, and hopefully topping the 100 million within the next two years. So the numbers continue to increase, and I think it's the attractiveness of the city and our utility as a global hub that's driving that demand. Paul, interesting to see aircraft movements also up, some 115,000 flights in Q3 alone. What does it say about the mix of airlines and destinations fueling this growth on the ground at DXB? Well, I think, Dan, what's happened is the attractiveness of the destination continues to be acknowledged worldwide. We've got many, many more visitors and people coming to live and work here in Dubai. And I think because of the nature of the logistics and the convenience of our customer service, people are really starting to say if they want to take journeys, whether they're beginning or ending in Dubai, or they're going on to other destinations, we seem to have become the airline and airport combination of choice, which is greatly heartening for me, my team, and, of course, the many hundreds of thousands of people involved in the aviation sector here in the city. Paul, I was in conversation with the Emirates President Sir Tim Clark yesterday talking about this major new order from Boeing. It seems as if Emirates and the UAE are doubling down on this investment corridor with the United States. We're going to see new planes coming online for the world's largest international carrier by 2027. You know, DXB is already one of the world's busiest international airports. More planes coming online. The traffic numbers are set to grow as well. So, where is the biggest pressure point right now for you at the airport? Well, clearly, Dan, what we've got to do is make sure that we deliver the infrastructure for DWC International Phase 2 on time for opening in 2032. By then, demand through DXB will be at $114 million and, therefore, we do need that additional capacity. The airport by then, and we had a great vote of confidence with a $3.5 billion pledge from the UK government yesterday as a contribution, we absolutely have to have that infrastructure up and running. It will give us the capacity of $150 million, which should give us the headroom for growth to accommodate all of the new aircraft that have been ordered. And I gather that actually we may not yet be done. The air show has another few days to run and there may yet be more orders in the pipeline for the UAE. Okay, so watch that space. Paul, you know, it's also interesting to see here as the new airport also comes online. Update us on the timeline at Dubai World Central here, and also, when can we realistically expect the material shift of planes and passengers to actually happen? When will all of this really unfold? Well, DWC, Armat 2 International, has actually been operating as an airport for the past 15 years, but obviously we are ramping up to introduce new concourses and terminals to give us that huge capacity boost. However, currently the airport ecosystem across DXB and DWC can cope with about $140 million spread across the two airports. So the pressure point immediately is how we manage demand across those two facilities before we eventually combine everything together at a total traffic number of about 124 million by 2032. That's going to be quite a logistical challenge, but I think definitely, if anyone's going to do it, Dubai definitely will be the enterprise that achieves that.

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