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Dubai Airports will bounce back very quickly from regional conflict, says CEO
Paul Griffiths says in an interview that there is no plan to put expansion on hold due to the ongoing war in the region involving the US, Israel and Iran
- PUBLISHED: Wed 18 Mar 2026, 8:47 AM UPDATED: Wed 18 Mar 2026, 8:53 AM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
Dubai Airports will bounce back from the impact of the current regional military conflict “very quickly”, and it has no plans to put its expansion on hold, its chief said.
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“We will bounce back from the current situation very quickly. Of that I am convinced. We are doing everything we can to preserve both the capability and confidence to bring our operations up to 100 per cent capacity as quickly as possible,” Paul Griffiths told CNN in an interview.
Highlighting the importance of the UAE and the regional aviation sector, he said: “The aviation ecosystem in the Middle East is incredibly important to the world. When you consider the amount of capacity that comes through hubs in the region, the world cannot do without that. One-third of the world’s population is within four hours’ flying time of Dubai, and two-thirds within eight hours’ flying time. That capacity, in global terms, is incredibly important.”
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Since the US-Israel-Iran war broke out in February, the UAE and other Gulf countries have restricted airspace due to Iranian attacks on regional countries, including the UAE. Dubai International Airport (DXB), which handled 95.2 million passengers last year, had to temporarily suspend operations due to drone incidents over the past 18 days.
Expansion on hold?
Paul Griffiths stressed that there are no plans by Dubai Airports—which manages Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport—to put expansion on hold.
“Absolutely not. We are still confident in the aviation industry and Dubai’s place in it. If you look at all the things that we have had to deal with over the last 20 years or so, we have bounced back and taken the opportunity to continue growing,” he added.
Dubai Airports is currently working on a mammoth $35 billion expansion plan for Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport. The first phase of the expanded facility is scheduled to open in 2032, allowing it to handle 150 million passengers annually. Upon completion, the airport will handle 260 million passengers.
Traffic movement is back up to 45%
Praising the efforts of all stakeholders in the aviation sector and the armed forces, Dubai Airports’ CEO told CNN that the ability to detect and respond to threats as they unfolded has been very effective and efficient.
“We closed the airspace and reopened it as the threat level changed. We have been able to keep aircraft in the air and route them through corridors properly designated by the General Civil Aviation Authority, while holding aircraft at outstations and ensuring they can be safely diverted if there is a threat. We facilitated journeys for over a million passengers over the last 17 days. And the recovery rate is significant—we are back to about 40–45 per cent of total traffic movement,” he said.
Total flight movements reached 118,000 in Q4 2025, up 5 per cent, bringing the annual total to 454,800—a rise of 3.3 per cent year on year.
When air traffic was disrupted on February 28, Dubai International was handling around 320,000 travellers a day.
“When that supply chain gets interrupted, it is incredibly important that we keep people informed, ensure those already at the airport are safe and secure, and deal with the backlog by getting people to where they need to be. Dubai Airports provided information to ensure that people came to the airport only when necessary. That worked well, as the airport remained calm and composed,” Griffiths said during the interview.
“I don’t think there is a place on the entire planet where everyone has pulled together so strongly to keep the wheels of the city moving, the airport operational, and everything as normal as possible. In these challenging times, every single member of the team has been absolutely magnificent,” he concluded.
