07-07-2025
Competition, Cooperation Spurring Success at Istanbul, Dubai Airports
Istanbul and Dubai serve as global centers of aerospace travel, with nearly 200 million travelers serviced via the hubs annually. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, and Selahattin Bilgen, CEO of Istanbul Airport, joined over 130 travel industry professionals at Newsweek's New Destinations conference in London last week, and shared their views on a number of important topics in the airport industry.
Large investments in airport construction
Airports, Bilgen said, are catalysts for economic change. Being able to welcome and accommodate large numbers of passengers with ease can help bring prosperity to a region. Two decades ago, Istanbul invested.
Regionally advantageous placement (at the center between Asia, Africa and Europe) meant that many major cities, London included, are a three-hour plane ride or less away. Istanbul would be a perfect hub if only it could grow to accommodate airline needs. Dubai has a similar geographical placement.
In 2013, Turkey invested in, "a brand-new place from scratch, and the brave plan to transfer all the operations from a 60 million tax airport to a brand-new airport... That was a real challenge and a brave decision to be taken," the CEO said on stage.
Istanbul Airport International departures area.
Istanbul Airport International departures area.
Istanbul Airport
Master planning, construction, operational readiness and transfer of operations between the old airport and the new one were completed in-house. "We have designed a brand-new airport from scratch with initial capacity of 90 million, but which will go up to 200 million [in] four phases and transfer, shut down the old airport in just one day, transfer[ed] all the operations to the new one," he said.
"We are proud to be one of the players in the industry, not by just building the largest, one of the largest airports in the world, but also exporting some talent as well," Bilgen told the assembled crowd, pointing out that two of his top performers have left to work for Griffiths.
Competition or cooperation?
"We are competing, but we're also on the same team," Griffiths told Newsweek's audience, responding to a question from panel moderator, Dr. Adil Ali.
"Our industry is more open to cooperation and collaboration; it is a necessity. If there's a problem with the airline, if there's a problem with the destination you are going, then it's a problem with your passenger as well," Bilgen added.
"I think that competition should be in the interest of the consumer, because I think it's not just about science, it's about the experience on the ground. So that actually should keep us really competitive with airport changes. We're also competitive, hopefully without service offerings. I think that competition is quite healthy," Griffiths told the crowd.
Dubai and Istanbul have advantages that other cities, like Tokyo and New York City, which have multiple major airports servicing them, have. "I don't think people say, 'Do you know that looks like a nice airport, I think I'll go to that country.' People go to an airport because it happens to be located in the place that they want to go to. And sometimes, you know, they go to that place despite the airport, not because the airport is a great experience. I think the thing is, the geography of the airport business makes us non-competing, because we're all providing a service. And in fact, we're all part of an ecosystem. Every single airport either provides the start or an end to a journey," Griffiths said.
However, there are some areas where major airports compete, Griffiths continued: "In some parts, we are actually competing, because transfer traffic is an absolutely integral part of the necessary workings of a major hub, because you wouldn't have a huge range of destinations served."
"Ultimately, the best passenger experience benefits all parties. It serves the market goal," Bilgen added.
Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 arrivals area.
Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 arrivals area.
Dubai Airports
Preparing for Impending Change
Dubai and Istanbul's locations allow them to be competitive with each other and the rest of the world, serving as gateways to around 240 cities each. Future air travel solutions could grow that number to as many as 300.
"I think with changes in aircraft technology, the number of destinations that you can fly to hub airports will continue to grow exponentially," Griffiths said. "There are so many destinations that hitherto have been beyond the reach of smaller airplanes, but that's going to change the number of destinations that are now within the range of the latest Airbus and Boeing single aisle aircraft – [they] will change that dramatically over the next few years."
