Can’t Fly or Won’t Fly? Why Airlines Aren’t Returning to Dubai Yet
Photo Credit: A file image of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport. Dubai Airports
Skift Take
Between insurance hurdles and tight capacity controls, the line between “can’t fly” and “won’t fly” in this complex operating environment is becoming increasingly blurred.
Dubai’s aviation leaders say the door is open. Some airlines suggest it’s being held shut.
The disconnect is becoming harder to ignore as carriers extend suspensions to one of the world’s most important hubs. It raises a key question: are airlines choosing not to return to Dubai, or are they being prevented from doing so?
Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the main barrier is not policy, but operational constraints.
“I think most of the problem has been insurance,” he said. “If foreign governments would underwrite – which for surely for them should be a relatively easy thing for them to do – the operation of their airlines to the UAE, then obviously we’d do everything we can to facilitate [them].”
Griffiths suggested that airlines with state-backed insurance support are better positioned to resume operations: “I think that’s the attitude that has been shown by a lot of airli
