The number of air passengers transiting through Dubai annually will increase by almost four times from 40 million today to 150 million by 2030, a top airlines official has said.
“In Dubai, passenger numbers will grow from over 40 million today to 150 million by 2030. To accommodate that growth, we are building the biggest airport in the world — Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International, having a capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of freight,” Dubai airports chief executive officer Paul Griffiths said at a summit held in Brussels.
Airlines, customs, immigration, security, retailers and information technology providers should collaborate on solutions that centre on passenger needs. There should be a new approach to handle traffic growth that is estimated to top five billion journeys globally by 2027, he said.
“The current travel experience at airports is characterised by cumbersome and time-consuming processes. The lack of coordination in the process has created queues. And ultimately that poor coordination boils down to a fundamental lack of trust. We need to change the mindset and the industry model,” he said.
Almost 50 percent of a passenger’s time at the airport is absorbed by non-commercial processes, that cost the global economy as high as $35 billion per annum, he said.
“Imagine a future where the customer’s online booking, purchase, seat selection, advance passenger information and biometric data are recorded well in advance,” he said.
“Baggage is checked in advance away from the airport. Biometric data is used to confirm passenger identification, security risk is assessed and linked to passenger name records for baggage sequencing, check-in and boarding pass confirmation. Security scanning occurs simultaneously. All this occurs in minutes, freeing up time for the passenger to relax, dine or shop,” he said.
Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International opens for cargo operations June 27.
