Dubai's aviation demand is bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, and the recovery is shifter compared to other markets said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

On Wednesday, the head of Dubai Airport said that aviation demand is back to 66 per cent of the pre-Covid levels, with the recovery of direct traffic between the Emirate and other countries ahead of pre-pandemic numbers.

Griffiths said, "We're already back to 66 per cent of our pre-Covid levels - 66 per cent of where we were in 2019.

"In fact, the recovery of direct traffic between Dubai and the rest of the world is actually ahead of pre-Covid numbers already…where 101 per cent of the pre-Covid levels are on a point-to-point basis between Dubai and the rest of the world. It's the transfer markets that were waiting to open up fully.

"Clearly, China, Far East Australia and some of those markets are taking their time to recover, and that's what's driving the slight lag in the transfer markets, which is something like 52 per cent back to where they were before."

Griffiths highlights the country's proactive measures during the pandemic and how it has impacted its image globally.

"The reputation of Dubai has been greatly enhanced through the pandemic due to the proactive measures taken by the government to reassure people that Dubai and the UAE is a very safe and attractive destination to visit."

"I think the health program, the vaccination program, the way that the government really foresaw the challenges and was very proactive and rapid in its decision making has actually paid huge dividends, and our international reputation as a destination has been greatly enhanced."

He explains how this is reflected in the Emirate's traffic numbers before the end of last year.

 

"We were doing extremely well, and the reputation of Dubai, I think has been greatly enhanced. I'm very confident about the growth trajectory because of the interest in the city and the number of entrepreneurs.

"People are interested in coming to either live, work or visit…that has greatly increased over the last two years. So, I'm confident that the growth that we're seeing now will be sustainable. And once the transfer markets recover fully, which they will, in the fullness of time, we will be back to exceed our pre-Covid numbers quickly.

"We think by 2023 we will see pretty close to a full recovery… we're anticipating 57 million this year in our initial forecast. But I wouldn't be surprised if that forecast is actually greatly exceeded considering the growth numbers that we're seeing so far."

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