Sir Tim Clark: Dubai will emerge ‘stronger and better’ after overcoming challenges

Dubai will emerge from its current challenges “stronger and better” and could become a model for other cities and destinations, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark said.

Speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit World, Clark said Dubai’s ability to adapt and its consistent approach to development would help the emirate emerge stronger from the current challenges.

“If we do what we have done in the last four years, the world will take real notice of what is going on, more than they have done now,” he said.

Clark added that Dubai could become “the beacon of example” for how to respond to major challenges while continuing to grow. He attributed this in part to the emirate’s government, which he described as “very, very visually forthright and very direct” in driving Dubai’s development.

Clark was speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit World, where he received the FHS Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the development of Emirates and its transformation into a global brand.

Looking ahead, Clark said Emirates had “great plans,” highlighting the development of Al Maktoum International Airport as one of the projects that would take the airline and Dubai’s aviation sector “to another level.”

Reflecting on Emirates’ growth, Clark said the scale of the airline’s global expansion and fleet had exceeded expectations.

“We never thought we would globalise the airline by 2015. We never thought we would have a fleet of this size,” he said.

Today, Emirates operates a fleet of Airbus A380s and A350s, as well as Boeing 777s, giving it one of the world’s largest wide-body fleets.

Earlier this month, Emirates’ Deputy President said the airline was operating at 93 per cent of capacity, while 98 per cent of its network was fully operational.