The aviation sector including the Emirates Group and Dubai Airports, contributed to almost $16.5billion of Dubai’s GDP in 2013 and has supported over 416,500 Dubai based jobs. It is estimated that aviation will account for more than 37% of Dubai’s economy by 2020.

HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group said: “Dubai’s success stems from a clear vision, careful planning, and collaborative execution. It is no accident that we are a global aviation hub today. It has taken us years to build up the critical competencies and infrastructure that we have today, and we now have a solid base on which to further develop.”

For every $100 of activity in the aviation sector, another $72 is added in other sectors through supply chain connections and expenditures, and for every 100 jobs created in aviation, an additional 116 jobs are created elsewhere in Dubai.

“At the end, we want Dubai to be the top choice for international travellers and traders – as a destination, and as a transport hub.”

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline

Dubai welcomed nearly 10 million non-UAE visitors who spent $13 billion, accounting for approximately 1% of foreign visitor spend globally in 2013.

“Between now and 2020 the contribution of the aviation sector to Dubai’s economy is expected to grow at a faster rate than the economy as a whole,” the research firm said.

Regarding connectivity, Dubai allows passengers to connect to 25 cities with populations over 10 million people – which is 81% of world cities overall. The city also offers flight connections to 149 cities with populations over 1 million people, creating export markets of 13% of the world’s population.

Passenger and cargo connectivity provided from Dubai has provided greater access to foreign markets, encouraging exports and increasing competition in the local economy, with cargo tonnage from 1990 – 2013 handled in Dubai growing on average 13.5% per year. This is in comparison with global average trade volumes which stand at 5.6%.

Looking towards future economical benefits, it is expected that Emirates will fly 70 million passengers by 2020. Dubai expects to welcome over 20 million visitors for its six-month Expo 2020 event, which will be accommodated for with an increase in airport capacity. Dubai International will be able to accommodate 60% more aircraft stands by 2015, following a $32 billion expansion project, and hopes to serve 90 million passengers by 2018. In conjunction with the event in 2020, the airport is estimated to receive 126.5 million passengers, nearly 30% higher than its original 2010 assessments.

Therefore, between 2014 and 2020, the contribution of the aviation sector to Dubai’s economy is expected grow at a faster rate than the economy as a whole. It is estimated that the overall economic impact of aviation and tourism combined will rise to $53.1 billion in 2020, which is equivalent to 37.5% of Dubai’s GDP.

Looking further ahead, the total economic impact of aviation by 2030 is projected to grow to $88.1 billion and will support 1,194,700 jobs.

“We will continue to take a consensus-based approach to infrastructure investment, embrace open competition, and focus on opening up and connecting markets through efficient operations,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.

Additional tourism benefits to Dubai are expected to rise to $21.7 billion by 2020 and to $39.5 billion by 2030 (at 2013 prices), with associated employment of 305,000 and eventually 530,600.

In our analysis, below, we look at the dramatic growth of air services from Dubai over the past ten years. According to schedule data, the number of departure seats from Dubai's airports has risen from 16,799,851 in 2005 to 45,782,373 this year, an average annual rise of 19.2 per cent.

Data provided by