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Dubai Airports chief wants ‘8 smaller airports’ at Al Maktoum terminal, 'intimate concourse'

Paul Griffiths said that he also wishes for the check-in process to be compact, where a traveller can 'step into a train, get off at the right place'

Published: Wed 20 Nov 2024, 3:14 PM

Updated: Thu 21 Nov 2024, 4:39 PM

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KT Photo: Rahul Gajjar

KT Photo: Rahul Gajjar

Dubai Airports chief wants to build eight smaller airports inside the new upcoming Al Maktoum International Airport. He said he wants to bring back the intimate airport experience that caused him to fall in love with the travel industry.

“What I would like to do is create eight smaller airports in the space of one large airport with the only common thing they share being the runways,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airport. “The check-in needs to be very compact where you step out of your car or air taxi, step into a train, get off at the right place.”

He was speaking at Skift Global Forum East, an event that brings together top business leaders and creative thinkers to discuss the innovations driving the future of travel in the Middle East and throughout the globe.

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Paul said he envisioned an “intimate concourse” where the planes, lounges, restaurants and shops are “just there” so that travellers can spend more time shopping and relaxing. He said he wanted people arriving at airports two hours early to spend “one hour, 58 minutes in my shops and restaurant and just two minutes doing the process".

He also said the airport has launched a new app that will guide travellers digitally to their gates and tell them what shops and services are on the way.

No stops, no check-in

He said it was time for airports to stop what they were doing and restart to disrupt how airports functioned. “We have been stuck with legacy processes that go back to hundreds of years,” he said. “It's not about putting more stuff in but taking stuff away. I'd love to see a vision of an airport future where there's absolutely no stops, no check-in, no baggage problems, no passport control, security, it's all taken care of whilst you're just breezing through a very manageable space.”

Among other disruption, he also questioned why airports needed to stick paper tags on luggage. “Why do luggage manufacturers not pre-print a barcode on every suitcase you buy with a unique identifier?” he asked. “Why are we sticking paper labels onto suitcases in the 21st century?”

He said that he takes his role at Dubai Airport very seriously. “When people arrive at an airport [that's the] moment [of] truth,” he said. “They will get an impression of what the country is like based on the welcome. So if you want to create an impressionable city, then it's created at the airport and I take that very responsibly. I do not want to let the great things that have been created in the city let down by the impression on arrival.”

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