# Dubai Airports CEO says no layoffs were made during the disruption > Paul Griffiths told Khaleej Times that the company retained staff and lowered passenger expectations because of the regional conflict. - Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026 - Publisher: Newsverum - Section: Business - Published: 2026-10-06T15:40:03+00:00 - Updated: 2026-10-07T05:58:36+03:00 - Event / data period: 2026-08-26 - Other editions: [Türkçe](https://newsverum.com/tr/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md), [العربية](https://newsverum.com/ar/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md), [Français](https://newsverum.com/fr/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md), [Español](https://newsverum.com/es/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md), [Deutsch](https://newsverum.com/de/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md), [Português](https://newsverum.com/pt/news/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026.md) Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the company made no layoffs during the regional conflict in an interview published by Khaleej Times on August 26. He highlighted employee commitment and morale while discussing the effects of disrupted tourism demand and air traffic on operations. Griffiths said passenger numbers were expected to be in the 70-million range in 2026 and to reach 100 million in 2027, while growth expectations had been revised down after the conflict. These are expectations he shared in the interview, not observed totals. ## Data ### Passenger outlook Expectations stated by the CEO in the Khaleej Times interview. Methodology: Approximate executive expectations; not actual passenger totals. | label | value | unit | period | basis | value_qualifier | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2026 passenger expectation | 70 | million people | 2026 | forecast | approximate | | 2027 passenger expectation | 100 | million people | 2027 | forecast | | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026/data/dubai-airports-ceo-outlook?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/paul-griffiths-dubai-airports-staffing-passenger-outlook-2026/data/dubai-airports-ceo-outlook?lang=en&format=csv) ## Sources - [Khaleej Times]() (Source checked: 2026-10-06; Published: 2026-08-26) ## Correction history - 2026-10-07T00:57:01+03:00: German and Portuguese editions and translations of the data and correction explanations have been added to this article. - 2026-10-07T05:58:36+03:00: Data classification added: each figure now carries a measure identifier with its unit, geography, frequency and type. No figure, unit or date changed. --- Cite the canonical URL above. [Editorial standards and corrections](https://newsverum.com/en/editorial)