Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum at the new lab for processing Covid-19 PCR tests at Dubai International Airport. Courtesy: DXB.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum at the new lab for processing Covid-19 PCR tests at Dubai International Airport. Courtesy: DXB.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum at the new lab for processing Covid-19 PCR tests at Dubai International Airport. Courtesy: DXB.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum at the new lab for processing Covid-19 PCR tests at Dubai International Airport. Courtesy: DXB.

Aviation

Dubai opens one of the world's largest in-house airport PCR test labs

The 20,000 square foot lab can process 100,000 samples daily, providing results in just a few hours

Deena Kamel
Deena Kamel

June 22, 2021

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Dubai opened one of the world's largest in-house airport labs for processing Covid-19 RT PCR tests at Dubai International Airport (DXB) as it looks to accommodate and accelerate the safe return of international travel.

The lab, a result of co-operation between Dubai Airports, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and lab operator Pure Health, can process 100,000 samples daily and provide results in just a few hours, according to Dubai Airports.

"As the world's busiest international hub preparing for a surge in passenger traffic over the summer holidays and beyond, we were keen to make sure that the airport journey is safer, smoother and faster while fulfilling the required health protocols," Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Airports, said.
The lab opening coincides with Dubai International Airport's plans to reopen its main terminal this week and hire about 3,500 people as it prepares for an expected surge in traffic during the coming months. About 66 airlines currently using Terminals 2 and 3 will gradually move their operations to Terminal 1 from June 24.

Located close to Terminal 2, the 20,000 square-foot laboratory is a dedicated facility for round-the-clock processing of RT-PCR test samples collected from passengers at DXB.

The lab is linked to government reporting platforms ensuring secure and easy sharing of information between health and regulatory authorities and airlines, according to the statement.

"The lab is a fine demonstration of Dubai's collaborative approach to tackling complex challenges and achieving great results," Sheikh Ahmed said.

The laboratory's capabilities will greatly help reduce waiting times for passengers arriving into Dubai and allow authorities to effectively implement relevant preventive and safety procedures, Awad Saghir Al Ketbi, director general of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said.

"As the largest lab operator in the country and an established healthcare provider, we are aiming to secure the safety of this nation's citizens, residents and visitors by contributing to a new standard of healthcare that benefits the people and communities around us," Farhan Malik, group chief executive of Pure Health, said.

The airport operator is targeting passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport to grow 8 per cent to 28 million this year as travel demand recovers, Dubai Airports' chief executive Paul Griffiths told Reuters on Sunday.

By autumn, 90 per cent of the 260 destinations served from Dubai airport prior to the pandemic could be restored, Mr Griffiths said, up from 63 per cent currently.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

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A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.

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