Dubai Airports’ CEO Paul Griffiths says he is in the market for ultra-high-speed transit solutions to shuttle passengers directly from the heart of Dubai to its secondary airport at Al Maktoum International.
“There are technologies under development that could allow for passengers to drop their bags off, say near Business Bay and hop into a pod to get to DWC in five or six minutes,” Griffiths told Aviation Business.
“We are serious about looking into such technology solutions,” he added.
The CEO declined to name any companies Dubai Airports is speaking with.
However, Dubai is currently backing the development of a number of high speed transport solutions.
Port operator and supply chain integrator, DP World, has invested $50 million in the development of the technology vacuum based levitation technology with California-based Hyperloop One. CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem also has a seat on its board.
Using concepts pioneered by Elon Musk, the company conducted its first full systems test yesterday of technology that could shuttle passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes at speeds of up to 750 mph.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has also signed an agreement with Hyperloop and is conducting feasibility studies to determine how the technology could be used to develop the emirate’s transport system.
Additionally, the RTA is also testing flying taxis to be deployed in Dubai toward the end of the year.
Dubai’s primary airport, Dubai International will begin shifting operations to what is currently the city’s secondary airport at Al Maktoum International (DWC) in 2022, according to Griffiths. Dubai Airports is aiming to ultimately plans grow total traffic to 240 million by 2050.
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