ATM 2026 top 5 highlights: UAE travel sector faces challenges, but ambition holds
Dubai: It was a long week for the media at Arabian Travel Market. Between navigating packed halls, rushing between interviews and shoots, filing stories at breakneck speed and trying to keep up with a seemingly endless stream of announcements , there was rarely time to pause and take in the bigger picture. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances But stepping back, one thing…
Dubai's airport story is evolving rapidly, with a new passenger terminal at Dubai World Central expected to become central to the city's long-term aviation strategy. The terminal, valued at approximately Dh128 billion, will handle hundreds of millions of passengers annually, alongside supporting infrastructure such as an automated people-mover system and a direct rail line.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths emphasized the airport's "incredible" recovery, pointing to the sharp rebound in monthly traffic since the disruption. However, the airport still lags behind its pre-disruption capacity of around 95.2 million passengers, with Dubai Airports projecting 70 million passengers for 2026 and 2027. Despite the disruption, Dubai's aviation ambition remains strong, as reflected in the city's proposed $35 billion airport project, which aims to make Al Maktoum International the world's largest airport, capable of handling 260 million passengers.
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