Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths said on Tuesday that the transition from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) will require a workforce larger than that of a single airport during the testing and handover phase.
Responding to a question from Khaleej Times, Griffiths described the upcoming shift as a major operational challenge, adding that some employees might need to postpone their retirement plans to ensure a smooth transition.
In April 2024, the Dubai government announced that all operations from DXB would gradually be relocated to the new Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central. The new Dh128-billion passenger terminal is expected to expand capacity to 260 million passengers per year and fully take over DXB’s operations within the next decade.
Dubai International Airport, currently the world’s busiest for international travelers, handled a record 46 million passengers in the first half of 2025. The second quarter alone saw 22.5 million passengers — a 3.1% increase compared to the same period last year. April was the busiest month of the quarter and the most active April on record, welcoming eight million travelers.
Griffiths noted that some airlines will start shifting operations to DWC in the coming years as DXB nears maximum capacity. He projected that Dubai International will handle around 100 million passengers within 18 months and reach approximately 115 million by 2031, before the full move to DWC in 2032.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is managing the overlap between the two airports,” Griffiths said following the Dubai Airshow 2025 press briefing. “We’ll need to maintain full staffing at DXB while getting DWC ready for operations. That means we’ll likely need more than one airport’s worth of staff during the transition, and some employees may have to delay their retirement plans to support this phase.”
Earlier this year, Dubai began awarding contracts for construction and development works at Al Maktoum International Airport, marking a key step toward the ambitious transition plan
