Dubai airport targets 28 million passengers this year, CEO says

Dubai's stateairportoperator is hoping for a "flood" of travellers as thecoronaviruspandemic eases, targetingpassengertraffic throughDubaiInternationalAirportto grow 8% to 28 million this year as demand rebuilds.

Terminal 1 is reopening this Thursday after a 15-month closure. Operations were consolidated through Terminals 2 and 3 last year as the pandemic took hold.

"People think it will trickle back. I don't believe that. I believe it will be an absolute flood of demand when people get the confidence to travel again,"DubaiAirports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths told Reuters on Sunday.

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Theairport, one of the world's busiest, could see over 40 millionpassengers this year if it was "really, really lucky," Griffiths said, though it was likely to be somewhere between 24.7 million and 34.3 million.

"We're comfortable with that mid-range of about 28 (million)."

Terminal 1 has an annualpassengercapacity of 18 million, while the entireairportcan handle up to 100 million.

Griffiths estimated the terminal's reopening would result in 3,500 additional jobs at theairport, including those working in retail, hospitality, security and immigration.

By the autumn, 90% of the 260 destinations served fromDubaiairportprior to the pandemic could be restored, Griffiths said, up from 63% today.

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Dubaiannounced on Saturday some restrictions onpassengers flying from India, South Africa and Nigeria would ease from Wednesday.

Theairporthandled 5.75 millionpassengers in the first quarter, a 67.8% fall compared to the same quarter in 2020 before the pandemic halted traffic.

In 2020,passengertraffic plummeted 70% to 25.9 million from 86.4 million in 2019. Theairportis the base of state carriers Emirates and flydubaiwhose entire operations areinternationalflights.

Over a two-week period starting Thursday, 66 foreign airlines will move from Terminal 2 and 3 to Terminal 1.

Terminal 3, where Emirates operates from, will continue to operate with two of its three concourses for the time being.

Dubai's secondairport, Al MaktoumInternational, will also remain closed to commercialpassengerflights.