Essa Al Shamsi is the Senior Vice President of Passenger Terminals at Dubai Airports. Essa Al Shamsi’s professional career spans 22 years encompassing progressively significant roles in some of Dubai’s leading organisations, including Etisalat, Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Essa’s journey with Dubai Airports began in 2007 when he joined the Engineering Services department as Manager— Security Systems. He rose through the ranks over the next few years and was appointed as the Head of Terminal 2 at Dubai International (DXB) in 2011. A year later he became the Head of Terminal 3, where his performance saw him promoted to Director of Terminal 3 and associated Concourses.

 

In 2018, Essa was appointed as the Vice President of Terminal Operations, responsible for overseeing the operations of all Terminals and Concourses at DXB and Dubai World Central (DWC), the Al Majlis VIP facility, all landside operations, as well as service and hospitality performance management across both airports. Essa led the Terminal Operations team at Dubai Airports in what is now acknowledged globally as its exemplary handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, the department worked in close collaboration with several key service partners to ensure a safe airport environment for guests and employees, thereby maintaining operational efficiency and service quality. He was promoted to Senior Vice President of Terminal Operations in October 2022. Essa holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Khalifa University.