Dubai's Airport Growth Fuels UK Business Expansion Amidst Global Uncertainties

Dubai's robust transport infrastructure is a key factor in its standing as a financial center, according to the former leader of the City of London, Professor Michael Mainelli. Professor Mainelli, who served as the City of London’s lord mayor from 2023 to 2024, noted that Dubai's financial districts are in a constant state of expansion, evidenced by sustained growth at its international airport. "As long as those air routes can be kept open, I don’t see that Dubai is going to have much of a problem," he stated in an interview with The National. "It's not a commercial calculation, it's just a human necessity." Dubai consistently ranks among the top 10 cities on the Global Financial Centres Index, securing ninth place in the latest findings from September. Professor Mainelli, who co-authors the index, observed no significant decline in confidence in Dubai. Recent geopolitical events, including the Iran war, have caused airspace restrictions and flight suspensions to the UAE. However, British Airways, the UK's national carrier, recently resumed its flights to Dubai after an eight-month hiatus.

Speaking at the Arab Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Professor Mainelli emphasized that the Gulf region should not be defined by moments of crisis. "We should acknowledge that tragedy without allowing us to define the region's future. The hope must be for restraint, diplomacy and durable peace, in which people can rebuild their lives and businesses can once again plan their confidence," he urged, during an event focused on the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

Meanwhile, London faces its own challenges regarding infrastructure expansion, particularly the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has yet to confirm his support for the project, which was initially proposed in 2006. While his predecessor, Keir Starmer, approved construction last year, the plans have been plagued by uncertainty. Government officials state that no applications have been submitted for the runway's construction, and local consultations are required before any proposal can proceed. The UK government is also grappling with a new wave of complex security risks, separate from overt warfare. These include major cyber attacks, state-sponsored 'sub-threshold' attacks from Russia, and alleged involvement of organized crime groups in arson and other disruptive activities, prompting the government to release its Resilience Action Plan last month.

Professor Mainelli explained to The National that the war, climate crises, and advancements in tracking technology have altered how finance professionals in the City of London and globally assess risks. "We’re very dependent on space observation, we’ve got much more integration on biology and crops, and how those interact with the market," he said. "The models that we used to have, which were purely financial, are now having to integrate with real-world models of what’s going on out there."

Despite these global risks, British company founders remain keen on expanding into Dubai while also increasing their awareness of domestic risks. Lisa Hicks, CEO of Snoap, a company producing hard soaps to reduce plastic waste, is planning to open an office at the Dubai Airport Free Zone as part of her company's expansion. She believes establishing a presence in a free zone could offer some protection against regional conflicts. Her primary challenge lies in identifying suitable distributors in an unfamiliar and potentially unstable region. "We will be looking at partnering with distributors, that’s where we will certainly do our due diligence," she commented. "I try to stay away from politics even within the UK, but it’s important to understand what they [our potential partners] believe in, [what] sides they’re on." Similarly, Ninfeng Fiona Lee, an oncologist and co-founder of VasoDynamics, a pharmaceutical startup developing drugs to mitigate cancer therapy side effects, is also planning to establish an office in Dubai to facilitate clinical trials and product sales. The company's global trials have included patients from the Middle East, and Ms. Lee aims to "collaborate locally to develop the trial at a high-quality level."