Ismail H. Polat is the Senior Vice President of Development at Dubai Airports, operator of DXB, the world’s busiest international airport, and DWC – Al 

Maktoum International, the emirate’s second airport and future global hub. He brings over 27 years of experience across planning, design, construction, 

ORAT, and airport operations. He began his aviation career as a Project Engineer at Boston Logan International Airport with Skanska USA before leading major airport development projects across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. As Chief Planning Officer of IGA, Ismail played a key role in shaping the new Istanbul Airport, one of the largest greenfield airport projects of the last decade.

At Dubai Airports, Ismail leads the Research, Design, Programme, and PMO teams, driving initiatives to elevate customer experience and operational efficiency at DXB. He also oversees the design and development of DWC, envisioned as the airport of the future with a planned annual capacity of 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of freight.

In addition, between July 2021 and July 2025, Ismail served as a member of Eurocontrol’s Performance Review Commission, acting as the focal point for airports and contributing to the independent assessment of gate-to-gate air navigation services performance across Europe.