Dubai Airports withstood 111 threat alerts and 17 ballistic missile strikes during the regional conflict this year, with most causing minimal damage and all those injured now fully recovered, CEO Paul Griffiths has said.
Speaking at an international media briefing hosted by Dubai Media Office on Thursday, Griffiths said the figures reflected the resilience of Dubai’s aviation sector through an extraordinary period of disruption.
“The most satisfying statistics: there were zero deaths and very, very limited casualties. I’m very pleased to say that all of those people have now fully recovered,” he said.
Griffiths added that most of the injuries recorded were minor and occurred as people rushed to reach shelter during the alerts.
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“Most of them were just falling over each other in the early stages when they actually were running too quickly to get to shelter, and we actually managed to calm things down after that to keep everything under control,” he said.
Following the US-Israel attacks on Iran, Tehran targeted Gulf countries, including the UAE, with drones and missiles. Dubai International Airport (DXB) was also targeted by Iranian drones.
Government response praised
Griffiths credited the UAE government’s communication throughout the crisis with allowing Dubai Airports to act quickly to protect staff and passengers. He also praised the country’s air defence systems for their interception rate.
“I don’t think any of us felt anything but safe and secure throughout the crisis,” he said.
He pointed to Dubai’s record of recovering from previous shocks, including the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, during his nearly two decades leading the organisation.
Passenger traffic rebounds
Griffiths said the recovery in passenger traffic following the crisis had been remarkable.
Traffic fell to 2.5 million passengers in March before climbing to 5 million by June and 6.3 million in July, representing a 26 per cent jump in a single month.
Dubai Airports handled 31.5 million guests in the first half of this year and is projected to reach around 70 million by the end of 2026, Griffiths said, after closing last year with 95.2 million guests.
He said the airport remained confident of moving back towards the “magic” 100 million passenger mark it has long targeted.
Describing the recovery as a “trampoline bounce” rather than a “dead cat bounce,” Griffiths said: “We go down, we hit the trampoline, and then we bounced even higher than before.”
Source: Khaleej Times