Dubai Airport CEO Says He's Open to Helping Donald Trump, American Airports
Airlines & Airports Donald Wood January 24, 2017
On Tuesday, Dubai International Airport CEO Paul Griffiths said that he would be willing to work with United States President Donald Trump and his administration on how to improve American airports.
According to The Associated Press, Griffiths is the CEO of the world's busiest airport for international travel, which saw an astounding 83.6 million passengers in 2016. Initially, officials from Dubai International Airport estimated it would serve 85 million passengers last year, but economic, political and terror-related turmoil have been blamed for missing the mark.
Griffiths and other executives with Dubai International Airport said they would welcome any discussions with President Trump and U.S. officials about how to improve their airports.
“If America and President Trump would like some of the expertise from Dubai, I'm sure we'd be pleased to assist.” Griffiths told The AP.
In 2014, Dubai International Airport surpassed London’s Heathrow Airport to earn the title of the world's busiest airport for international traffic and has maintained it ever since. Currently, more than 90 airlines fly to and from the Dubai airport.
“We know that the global economy has slowed a little bit and the propensity for travel has dropped, but I think that 2016 was quite an unparalleled year,” Griffiths told The AP. “Fortunately, our numbers are still holding up.”
The growth of the airline industry in the Gulf region has caused anger among U.S airlines, who allege top carriers such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways receive unfair government subsidies. All of the aforementioned airlines have denied the allegations.
Griffiths was asked about Trump's protectionist stance, and he responded by saying, “The result of that is reduced choice for the consumer and higher prices.”
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