A blueprint for becoming the biggest airport in the world: Dubai Airports CEO, Paul Griffiths

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has been the mighty beating heart of global international air travel for over a decade. The airport is the star of a four-season National Geographic documentary series, and it is clear that both the airport and the destination that it serves are renowned around the world. If the glitz and glamour of Dubai itself do not tempt you, then chances are you are using the hub as a connection to another far-flung part of the world.

Since its opening in 1960 with a humble compacted sand runway, the airport has undergone multiple upgrades to create the powerhouse it is today.

DXB was the busiest airport in the world in 2024 for international passengers, having served over 92 million passengers. This is an achievement that the airport’s CEO, Paul Griffiths, puts down to the number of their airlines (over 90 airlines and 240 city pairs), as well as investment in technology to squeeze extra capacity out of the airport. “We haven’t had a major infrastructure upgrade at DXB since 2013. We’ve managed to contribute to the growth by investing ways of improving the capacity. The trick is that there are two ways of achieving increases in capacity. You either build, or you speed people through the existing facilities in half the time.”

Investing in clever ways to increase capacity is completely necessary as by 2026 the airport is likely to be approaching 100 million passengers per year, with aspirations to keep growing to around 120 million passengers per year before it starts to feel ‘the pinch’. And that is where the new airport comes in.

DWC – Dubai’s future hub in the making

Dubai World Central / Al Maktoum International. C: Dubai Airports.

Dubai World Central / Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), which officially opened in 2013 but has been serving cargo operations, seasonal charter and general aviation, will be undergoing phase two of its expansion. The phase two expansion will make DWC five times the size of DXB with five runways, and an ultimate capacity of 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes cargo per annum. This will make DWC the biggest airport in the world and the most expensive, setting the Dubai government back $35 billion. DWC will become Dubai’s main airport by 2032, and DXB will likely shut and be redeveloped.

Despite this, the idea is not to create the world’s largest airport by itself, says Paul.

“We want to make a highly service orientated airport. So effectively, when fully developed, we’ll have eight smaller airports of about 32 million each which are fully self-contained and connected via a comprehensive underground railway system. The idea is we do not want to replicate the walking distances, the complexity and the passenger inconvenience of many of the world’s largest airports, which to me are not very passenger centric. Unfortunately, for too long, airports have been largely designed by architects for the convenience of the operator. We want to take a completely different approach. We want to put the passenger first, and we want to create an experience that is going to be not just pleasant, but world-class in terms of customer service.”

DWC Airport is said to feature a new era of smart airport systems and passenger centric facilities, taking travellers to worldwide destinations in the most awe-inspiring and comfortable way possible. This is certainly an exciting promise, and one which Paul intends on seeing through.

“For too long, airports have followed the legacy process of putting in antiquated systems and procedures. Check-in, immigration, customs and security are all very intrusive and horribly disconnected. What we are trying to do at DWC is evolve a new proof of concept, like a very efficient metro station. You just pitch up, your biometrics will be read from facial recognition software, and you’ll be able to just go through and complete the formalities in a matter of seconds.”

The DWC concept is getting the passenger flow rate to the maximum level and getting the passenger to their point of departure so that they can enjoy the retail, lounges, restaurants, bars, and your aircraft will be within 500 metres of you.

Dubai World Central / Al Maktoum International. C: Dubai Airports.

Bringing the romance back to travel

Dubai Airports aims to make the airport more inclusive for people of determination. C: Dubai Airports

DXB makes sue of the Sunflower Lanyard to indicate when someone needs extra care. C: Dubai Airports.

Paul’s personal aim is to bring the romance and emotion back to travel, making passengers feel like they’re part of the select few, like they were in the 1950s. The challenge is making passengers feel like this in an airport as busy as DWC.

“We really want to make every passenger feel that it’s like an intimate experience for them. Travel remains a globally aspirational commodity. People want to feel special and it’s irrespective of what class or the airline you’re travelling in. I want to make the airport very quick and seamless, and not to aggregate people into spaces where they feel part of the crowd. To do this, they should have a very intimate personal experience with minimal walking distances straight to the gate, a nice modern design.”

According to Paul, this is the recipe for success:

Design + technology + innovative service concepts = modern Arabian hospitality.

And Arabian hospitality means world-class service for every passenger.

DXB makes use of the sunflower lanyard for passengers to indicate when someone needs extra care and recently opened an assisted travel lounge for people of determination, which is a term used specifically in the UAE.

“Even though passengers who need extra attention and care account for less than 5% it is always our policy to treat every single traveller as an individual. Developing technology will help  as there’s a lot of intelligence that AI will give us the ability to deliver. If we know more about a passenger’s particular needs very subtly through a profile, we can serve them without making a fuss, as the last thing the passenger wants to do is make that public knowledge. So, if we can leverage AI in this way, we can give a subtle and respectful service for this category of traveller.”

With such a meteoric rise to the international travel stage, DXB is a prime example of the power of technology in elevating and optimising an airport without laying a single brick and what the airport has achieved under the leadership of its CEO is truly commendable. What is a given is that the expectations for DWC Airport will be even higher, and the eyes of the world will be fixed on Dubai in the emirate’s next phase of development.

About the interviewee

Paul Griffiths serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Airports, overseeing the strategic direction and operational excellence of Dubai International (DXB) – renowned as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers – and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC).

Assuming the role of Dubai Airports’ inaugural CEO in October 2007, Paul has been a driving force behind a series of successive milestones in the organisation’s history. Notably, he played a crucial role in the seamless launch of Terminal 3 at DXB on 14 October, one year after joining. On 27 June 2010, he successfully inaugurated Dubai’s second airport, DWC. Further contributing to Dubai’s aviation legacy, Paul spearheaded the opening of Concourse A on 2January 2013, the world’s first purpose-built A380 facility, followed by Concourse D on 24 February 2016. Under his guidance, the passenger terminal at DWC commenced operations on 27 October 2013.

Marking a historic moment on 20 December 2018, Paul, alongside Dubai Airports’ Chairman, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, welcomed DXB’s billionth passenger.

In the face of the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, Paul’s leadership was pivotal in ensuring DXB’s rapid and resilient recovery. Anticipating the resurgence of global travel, he led proactive measures that positioned DXB ahead of industry projections. By 2023, the airport had not only surpassed pre-pandemic traffic levels but also set new benchmarks for operational efficiency and guest experience.

In 2024, DXB achieved a historic milestone, welcoming 92.3 million guests, the highest annual traffic in its 65-year history. What made this achievement even more remarkable was that, despite the record numbers, Dubai Airports continued to enhance the guest experience, with smoother flows across touchpoints and maintaining industry-leading accuracy in baggage handling.