Paul Griffiths oversees what now is a much quieter Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and crucial to East-West travel. The millions that once poured through the airport’s concourses are no longer flying as countries around the world enforce lockdowns and travel bans to fight the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.
Though government-owned Emirates plans to restart some flights next week, Griffiths told The Associated Press that the airport has yet to find a workable coronavirus or antibody test to administer on a massive scale to passengers. Until a vaccine or a permanent solution to the virus exists, there could be “quite a low level of activity for quite some time,” he said.
“I think the thing is there are a lot of people that are offering conjecture, whether it’s 18 months or two years or less or more,” Griffiths said in an interview Wednesday. “But the problem is it’s all conjecture. The honest answer is no one really knows.”
The airport known as DXB saw 86.4 million passengers in 2019, 6 million more than second-place Heathrow Airport in London. That’s down 3% from 2018 when Dubai had 89.1 million passengers.
But air travel this year has been disrupted by the virus. In the first quarter, Dubai International Airport’s passenger numbers dropped by nearly a fifth to 17.8 million compared to last year. Cargo and repatriation flights have been flying, however.
Beginning May 21, Emirates plans to operate flights to nine cities, including Chicago; Frankfurt, Germany; London; Madrid; Milan; Paris; Toronto; and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. Already, attendants on Emirates flights wear gloves, masks and other protective gear.
Esta historia es de la edición Techlife News #446 de Techlife News.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Techlife News #446 de Techlife News.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Instagram Makes Teen Accounts Private as Pressure Mounts on the App to Protect Children- Instagram is making teen accounts private by default as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid a growing backlash against how social media affects young people's lives.
Instagram is making teen accounts private by default as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid a growing backlash against how social media affects young people's lives. The teen accounts will be private by default. Private messages are restricted so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. Sensitive content, such as videos of people fighting or those promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited, Meta said. Teens will also get notifications if they are on Instagram for more than 60 minutes and a sleep mode will be enabled that turns off notifications and sends auto-replies to direct messages from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m.
Not-so-Great Expectations: Students Are Reading Fewer Books in English Class - Chris Stanislawski didn't read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary.
Chris Stanislawski didn't read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary. Students were given detailed chapter summaries for every novel they discussed, and teachers played audio of the books during class.
US Companies See Record-Low Profits in China Amid Geopolitical Tensions and Slow Growth, Report Says - American companies in China are seeing record-low profits, with business confidence at an all-time low amid U.S.-China tensions and a slowing Chinese economy
American companies in China are seeing record-low profits, with business confidence at an all-time low amid U.S.-China tensions and a slowing Chinese economy, according to a report published Thursday by a U.S. business group.
GOOGLE WINS LEGAL BID TO OVERTURN 1.5 BILLION EURO ANTITRUST FINE IN EU DIGITAL AD CASE
Google won a court challenge this week against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) European Union antitrust fine imposed five years ago that targeted its online advertising business.
CONGRESS TARGETS CHINESE INFLUENCE IN HEALTH TECH. IT COULD COME WITH TRADEOFFS
A California biotechnology company that helps doctors detect genetic causes for cancer is among those that could be cut out of the U.S. market over ties to China, underscoring the possible tradeoffs between health innovation and a largely bipartisan push in Congress to counter Beijing's global influence.
FACEBOOK OWNER META BANS RUSSIA STATE MEDIA OUTLETS OVER 'FOREIGN INTERFERENCE'
Meta said it's banning Russia state media organization from its social media platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow's propaganda. The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin.
TECH BILLIONAIRE RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER FIRST PRIVATE SPACEWALK
A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday (15), ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA's moonwalkers.
UNITED AIRLINES WILL OFFER FREE INTERNET ON FLIGHTS USING SERVICE FROM ELON MUSK'S SPACEX
United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
GOOGLE'S MILLISECOND AD AUCTIONS ARE THE FOCUS OF A MONOPOLY CLAIM
It happens in milliseconds, ideally, as you browse the web. Networks of computers and software analyze who you are, what you are looking at and buy and sell the advertisements you see on web pages.
LONGSHOREMEN AT KEY US PORTS THREATENING TO STRIKE OVER AUTOMATION AND PAY
Determined to thwart the automating of their jobs, about 45,000 dockworkers along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are threatening to strike on Oct. 1, a move that would shut down ports that handle about half the nation's cargo from ships.