In his fireside chat with Nancy Stern, Vancouver Airport Authority’s in-house architect, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports (DXB), explored how the organization is planning to move Dubai Airport out of the city while also maximizing the passenger capacity of its current infrastructure through technological innovation.
Efficient new operations
At the new airport, Dubai Airports is expecting to build 400 gates with five runways for 260 million passengers. For increased efficiency, the organization is also implementing video analytics on every stand for every turnaround, infrared heat mapping for congestion monitoring and public performance monitoring. The company is introducing electric tugs as well as 40MW of solar PV generating capacity.
During the talk, Griffiths said, “It’s a very difficult nut to crack, this one, not least because we’re the airport operator, and the Government of Dubai is charged with actually building DWC Phase 2. We, as airport operators, have had to have a big influence over the design. What I’m trying desperately to do is to see how we can convince people that airport design needs to fundamentally change. I mean, if we built one massive concourse and created a 260-million-passenger airport using conventional design, we would probably create the worst airport experience imaginable. The problem is that our legs are roughly the same size as they have been for thousands of years, so walking distances are a big enemy. Besides, why do we have to aggregate people together at that scale? There’s no reason to do that.
“So, in the design talks, I’m saying the front end of an airport needs to be like a very efficient metro system or a railway station, where we just simply transport people from their mode of arrival – whether it be by mobile aerial mobility, or whether it’s by train or by car – give them a very quick process and then get them on a train to their concourse. That’s where we can put the joy in the dwell space.”
Make what you’ve got work harder
The executive asserted that by prioritizing passenger flow at the beginning of the development process, airports can configure gate areas to make the most of customers’ dwell time and boost airports’ commercial success.
He continued, “We’ve actually not had a major development at DXB since 2013. Yet we’ve continued to deliver record passage growth year on year, and we’re not finished yet. In 2026, I think we’ll cross the 100 million international passenger threshold, which is going to be quite a landmark to achieve with the same infrastructure.
“I think the problem is a lot of airports don’t understand how they should be treating their customers at different stages in the journey. Because, let’s face it, the problem we’ve got at the moment is we’re living with legacy processes – check-in, baggage, security, immigration, customs. Now we don’t need any of that stuff. You still need to ensure these processes happen safely but let’s innovate and make that seamless, so that you just drop a bag and not even have to talk to anyone. In the ideal situation, biometrics lets you walk through the building without having to know that you’re being screened. In fact, right now, if you’ve been through DXB once and you’re registered in the biometric database of the immigration system, you can walk through the entire airport, into and out of the country, with your passport in your pocket. You don’t need to actually show any documentation. We want to do something similar with security, and we’ve got a POC out to try and actually get an integrated security/check-in/baggage handling process within a couple of meters.”
One of DXB’s initiatives is its OneDXB program, which ensures all stakeholder staff go through the same customer service training and award system, regardless of which individual company they work for, whether it be janitorial, ground services or retail. Additionally, the airport has launched its Airport Operations Control Center, where every operational decision is consolidated into one large room. According to Griffiths, staff here can see every touchpoint throughout the airport represented graphically in real time. This runs 24/7 and is overseen by one person.
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