Dubai Airports launched the region's first 'silent airport' project aimed at significantly improving ambiance both inside and outside the airport by eliminating unnecessary announcements and banning noisy aircraft.
The novel 'silent airport' project will dramatically curtail the number of public announcements made across all three terminals at the world's 4th busiest airport for international passenger traffic, said a statement from Dubai Airports.
Customer research shows that when combined with mandatory security and ad hoc broadcasts, the resulting noise serves more to confuse than inform as passengers become overloaded with information and consequently "switch off' from hearing their flight call", said a top official.
"Over the past 10 months we worked closely with our customer airlines to limit announcements to a maximum of 2 per flight," said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.
"As a result we have cut the number of daily announcements from over 2,000 across all three terminals to less than 700 with no impact on departure performance. If anything passengers can now hear their flight announcements more clearly, and they certainly appreciate the quieter environment," he remarked.
Dubai International is one of few airports worldwide and the first in the Middle East to implement the 'silent airport' concept.  To ensure a smooth transition, Dubai Airports has enhanced the quality and presentation of data on flight information display screens located throughout the airport. Airline and airport 'May I Help You' staff are also actively reminding passengers to arrive at their gate on time.
In a separate initiative, and as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, Dubai Airports, in conjunction with the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, has announced the phased withdrawal of older generation aircraft that do not conform to international noise and emission standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).