The biggest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai has transformed over the past twenty years into a major aviation connections hub, as well as a popular tourist destination in its own right. As a result, in 2024 Dubai International Airport (DXB) was the second-busiest airport in the world by number of departing seats, with over 60 million available.

With its homebased carriers, Emirates and flydubai, both planning for substantial growth, Dubai now expects to process 150 million air travel passengers by 2032. Managing these numbers within DXB’s current footprint is impossible. So how is Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, planning for the future and building a new airport for Dubai?

Dubai World Central (DWC) is the flagship growth project: located 23 miles outside Dubai, the new passenger terminals are a redevelopment of the Al Maktoum International cargo airport, and once completed the site will become the biggest airport in the world, spanning 36,000 acres. Scheduled to open in 2032, DWC will eventually completely replace the DXB site, which will close down. But in the interim, Dubai Airports still has to manage ever-increasing traffic at DXB.

We basically don’t have any further room to develop major infrastructure. So the only way we’re going to increase capacity is by using the existing infrastructure in a more effective and efficient way. 

Tech has been at the heart of Griffiths’ strategy to improve the airport experience for staff and travellers alike. Using biometrics, DXB has done its best to eliminate touchpoints to give passengers a seamless, stress-free experience. Innovations such as its ‘document-free’ departure corridor in Terminal 3 have been received positively.

It’s a major benefit to invest in processes and technology at airports. Anyone who’s not doing that at the moment is really following the old operating model of being an infrastructure manager rather than taking care of the guest, which is our major focus.

Griffiths also explains how he sees innovation at DXB as a testbed for DWC, so that by the time the new airport opens all processes will have been thoroughly tested. In this way, he hopes to avoid the difficult pilot stage, because the airport staff will already be thoroughly acquainted with the technology.

We are developing as much real estate as we can at DXB, but ultimately we will outgrow the field even with all the technology and efficiency we’re introducing. So DWC Phase 2 2032 is coming just at the right time. 

Five times bigger than the DXB site, DWC plans call for five runways, four concourses, and 400 passengers gates. Estimated to cost US$34.85 billion, this huge infrastructure project is one of the largest in the Middle East. Inbuilding sustainability has been key to making the new airport viable. Solar panels have already been implemented at DXB for clean energy provision, and are also to be a major component of DWC alongside electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

However, emissions from jet fuel remains a major obstacle. Griffiths explains why sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production needs to accelerate at a competitive price, and his campaign for subsidies to ease adoption.

There needs to be a step change in incentives for producers to invest to bring the price [of SAF] down at scale. And there needs to be a mandate from government to require airlines to up their game and actually purchase SAF.

🎥 Watch the interview to get Paul Griffiths’ full insight on technology, sustainability, and expansion at Dubai Airports.

Questions asked include:

  • DXB is investing heavily in tech to create a frictionless, touchless passenger experience. Could you talk me through a few of the projects you’ve introduced and what kind of impact they’ve had on the traveller experience?
  • Is it difficult to make these investments within the limited footprint of an airport? How can airports make the most of their existing space and technology?
  • How is progress on Dubai World Central going? What kind of tech/innovation are you implementing to make it a true airport of the future?
  • What about sustainability? How has that been incorporated in DWC plans?

Join us at Aviation Festival Asia 2026 to discuss the future of airport tech in MENA and APAC.

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