Towards sustainability: Dubai Airports joins WEF’s 'Airports of Tomorrow'

Dubai: In line with COP28 kicking off in Dubai on Thursday,  Airports, operator of the world's biggest airport for international traffic, Dubai International (DXB), announced that it joined Airports of Tomorrow — a collaborative venture by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Airports Council International (ACI).

This partnership is dedicated to steering the aviation industry toward Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, focusing on critical areas such as energy, infrastructure, and financing.

Sven Deckers, Director of Strategy Planning at Dubai Airports said, “We’ve aligned with the World Economic Forum because we recognise the critical importance of collaboration in addressing environmental sustainability challenges - in the aviation industry, competition is non-existent. This is a collective effort where all airports are united in a race against time. Together, we’re committed to achieving a net-zero future for the aviation industry.

Ahead of COP28, a delegation from the Airports of Tomorrow community toured key facilities at DXB including the hub’s 140km baggage handling system, and the 15,000-panel solar energy system installation at Terminal 2.

Sustainability initiatives

Apart from the solar energy system – the largest at any Middle Eastern airport – other achievements include diverting 60 per cent of waste generated at its facilities away from landfills, converting 100 per cent of waste cooking oil into biodiesel, and ongoing efforts to integrate electric ground operations vehicles.

Facility upgrades for enhanced energy efficiency and the widespread replacement of conventional lights with energy-efficient LED fixtures further underscore the airport's environmental commitment.