Title: Secret British Document: Thatcher Urges "Heathrow" to Learn from Dubai Airport

A secret British document revealed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's admiration for Dubai International Airport during her visit to the United Arab Emirates in 1981. In the document, the Iron Lady praised the efforts of the young Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who was overseeing the airport at the time. The document showed Thatcher's astonishment at the organization and development she observed at Dubai Airport, expressing her dissatisfaction with the British government's and Heathrow's management's inability to find solutions to its ongoing issues. She urged her country's transportation ministry to immediately begin drafting a plan for the improvement of Heathrow Airport. The document dated April 27, 1981, included Thatcher's comment: "The airport is what gives the first impression to visitors about the reputation of the country they are visiting, and Heathrow is very poor; we must learn from Dubai Airport."