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Time Out Dubai
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time Out Dubai
How Al Maktoum International Airport will become the biggest airport in the world
Dubai has ambitious plans for Al Maktoum International Airport, which will eventually see it become the world's largest capacity airport. The Dhs128 billion project will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International Airport when it is eventually completed. The latest updates have revealed the three phases of construction that will eventually see it become the main airport in the emirate. The existing airport in Dubai South, also known as Dubai World Central, serves a small fraction of the planned 260 million passengers it will eventually have capacity for. But what is the history of the project? When can we expect it to be completed? And how will it change the city? What is the history of Al Maktoum International Airport? When it first opened in the year 2010, Al Maktoum International Airport had rather more humble beginnings compared to the grand plans mapped out for its future. With phase one, it had only one runway and its sole purpose was for cargo flights, opening to passengers in 2013. Construction of the airport began in 2005 with an ambition to eventually build a fully integrated 'aerotropolis' in Jebel Ali, Dubai South. Al Maktoum Airport This will be a new city within the emirate based entirely around the airport. The airport will be at the centre of the planned 140 square kilometre project. There will be six clustered zones that include the Dubai Logistics City, Commercial City, Residential City, Aviation City and the Golf City. The airport has had several different working titles, including Jebel Ali International Airport, Jebel Ali Airport City and Dubai World Central International Airport. The announcement in 2024 was not the first time that the city had declared that Al Maktoum would eventually become the world's busiest airport with reports from 2013 projecting that it would do so within a decade. Phase 1 of the Al Maktoum International Airport construction Sustainability is at the heart of the design of Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Coop Himmelb(l)au) The first phase, due to be completed by 2032, will start with the construction of the West Terminal Building, which will be connected to the city with a new express metro line, and Concourse 1. An elaborate underground train system, referred to as an Automated People Mover (APM) by airport planners, will be required at the airport due to the sheer scale of the site. Concourse 1 will be connected with 100 contact gates, and four underground stations will be built to allow passengers to move around the airport quickly. This concourse will be the first of four identical 2.7 km-long concourses at Al Maktoum International Airport. It will have a built-up area of 2.3 million square metres and feature cutting-edge passenger facilities. The concourse design is inspired by the UAE desert, with three sand-dune-like nodes running along a central spine line. The airfield will see the construction of runways 2 and 3, along with an underground baggage handling system and a ground service equipment road network. Energy centres, fire safety and other support facilities for duty-free catering, maintenance and storage will be constructed on the north side of the airport to provide the best operational and commercial support services. Once phase one is completed, Al Maktoum International Airport will have capacity for 130 million annual passengers, which is more than the 92.3 million travellers who flew through DXB in 2024. Phase 2 of Al Maktoum International Airport construction The interior of the planned new look for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office) In the following decade, the second phase of Al Maktoum International Airport will build a second concourse, parallel and identical to concourse 1, which will enable 150 million annual passengers to flow across 200 contact gates. The second phase will also add a further three underground train stations to serve the second concourse as well as the expansion of the ground service equipment roads network and the automated baggage handling system. Support facilities will also be further expanded to match the new airport capacity. Final phase of Al Maktoum International Airport construction Everything you need to know about Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office) Once the project is completed, Al Maktoum International Airport will be five times the size of the current Dubai International Airport, which is already the world's busiest for international passengers. It will be able to accommodate up to 260 million passengers once completed. The final development will start with the construction of the East Terminal, Concourse 3 and Concourse 4. This phase will enable ground transportation access from the east side of the city. The final phase will include a connection to the Etihad Rail and a brand new Dubai Metro line. The internal underground railway system at AMI will be expanded to become a 14-station system connecting all airside buildings in a giant loop. Runway four and five will complete the airfield and enable four aircraft to make parallel approaches. Today, we approved the designs for the new passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport, and commencing construction of the building at a cost of AED 128 billion as part of Dubai Aviation Corporation's strategy. Al Maktoum International Airport will enjoy the… — HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 28, 2024 There will be more than 400 aircraft gates, five parallel runways with the highest operational specifications, and a total of five passenger terminal buildings. The airport will span 70 square kilometres once fully complete. It will also see all operations currently at Dubai International Airport eventually move over to Al Maktoum International Airport in the coming years. When can we expect the Al Maktoum International Airport project to be completed? Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and founder of the Emirates Group and chairman of Dubai World, says that the first phase of the project will be ready within 10 years and will accommodate 150 million passengers annually. Speaking at the Dubai Airshow last year, the CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths revealed that the full project wouldn't be completed until 'way into the 2050s'. He also said that once DXB reaches about 120 million passengers per year there will be a need for a new airport since Dubai International Airport is already fully optimised. On Tuesday March 4, an update from Falcon, one of the airport's top aviation services providers, outlined plans for a Dhs360 million upgrade its maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. The plans by the company included the addition of a new private jet terminal by the year 2030 at what they said would be the world's busiest travel hub by then. How will Al Maktoum International Airport change Dubai? A brand new city within the city will be built in Dubai South as part of the plans. The aerotropolis has been under development and operation since 2007 in Dubai. It will host the world's leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors, which will bring lots of new jobs to Dubai. A render of plans for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office) This means that housing will be required for at least a million people according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The new airport will also require an integrated landside transport hub for roads, the Dubai Metro, and city air transport. What will happen to DXB once Al Maktoum International Airport is completed? Every single service at the world's busiest international airport will eventually move to Al Maktoum, according to the Dubai Airports CEO. Speaking at Arabian Travel Market 2025, CEO Paul Griffiths was asked about plans for DXB once all operations move to Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as DWC. Although the move is still some time in the future, Griffiths stated that there would be 'little sense' in having two airports the size of Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, which will eventually be five times the size of DXB, operating at the same time when they're both so close to each other. In addition, he also discussed that the assets at Dubai International Airport would require renovation by the time the move to Al Maktoum is made, so keeping DXB open would be tricky unless they invested huge sums of money. Where does Al Maktoum International Airport currently fly to? Al Maktoum International Airport, or Dubai World Central as it is currently known, flies mainly to Europe and several other popular destinations for travellers from the UAE. These include: Denmark : Copenhagen : Copenhagen Czechia: Prague Prague England: Newcastle Newcastle Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart Italy: Milan Milan Luxembourg: Luxembourg Luxembourg Maldives: Male Male Netherlands: Amsterdam Amsterdam Norway : Oslo : Oslo Poland: Katowice Katowice Romania: Bucharest Bucharest Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Riyadh Jeddah, Riyadh Sweden: Stockholm Stockholm Switzerland: Zurich Jetting off soon? New Emirates flights from Dubai for 2025 Will you be jetting off soon? When is the next UAE public holiday? Your public holiday questions, answered Dubai flights: When will flydubai start operations in Al Maktoum International Airport? The budget airline will open at Al Maktoum International Airport sooner than you'd think
Time Out Dubai
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time Out Dubai
Al Maktoum International Airport to have underground train system
An elaborate underground train system is set to be built at the new Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai. Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central, is set to be the world's largest capacity airport once built. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, revealed the latest plans for what will eventually be Dubai's main airport at a fireside chat during the Arabian Travel Market at Dubai World Trade Centre. Underground trains will be introduced to make getting around more convenient and quicker for the estimated 260 million annual passengers at the massive new airport. Unlike the existing train service at Dubai International Airport, journeys to and from your destination at the revamped Al Maktoum International Airport are set to take between 15 and 20 minutes due to the sheer scale of the site. And because journeys will be longer than typical shuttle services at airports, plans currently state that there will be seating on board carriages so that passengers aren't standing for long periods of time between stops. The interior of the planned new look for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office) Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said that the train system will need to be fast and efficient to cut down on journey times. He said: 'The underground system that we're going to have to put for the new airport is going to be very comprehensive. 'We're going to have to make it pretty quick to minimise the travel distances, because if you look at it, it's such a large site that actually the same sort of distance by rail will be similar to going from, say, King's Cross to Paddington in London, which is a 20 minute journey time. 'We have to make it fast, efficient and competitive in terms of circulation of transfer passengers to get to and from the airport.' Current plans state that the site will have eight smaller airports to cut down on the process of checking in, dropping off luggage and going through security. Artificial Intelligence will be used to programme the most convenient logistics of operations, with the idea being that the train will get you around the airport and you'll get off at your relevant station, which will then be a short walk to the aircraft. Dubai news: New images from the architects behind Al Maktoum International Airport show what we can expect when it is built (Credit: Coop Himmelb(l)au) Plans also include visual reference points, allowing passengers to know the distance they need to travel to reach their flight. Al Maktoum International Airport is still a number of years away however, as phase one of the Dhs128 billion project is not set to be complete for another decade. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and founder of the Emirates Group and chairman of Dubai World, has previously said that the first phase of the project will be ready within 10 years and will accommodate 150 million passengers annually. In addition to the underground train, there will be more than 400 aircraft gates, five parallel runways with the highest operational specifications, and a total of five passenger terminal buildings. The airport will span 70 square kilometres once fully complete. Dubai nostalgia 8 pictures of what Global Village used to look like from the 90s car park to today The history of Dubai's favourite family day out 19 pictures showing what DXB Airport used to look like From 200 passengers a day to Emirates launch 20 pictures that show how much Dubai has changed from the 1950s to today. Take a look at these unrecognisable photos of the city
What's On
30-01-2025
- Business
- What's On
Dubai welcomes record 92 million passengers in 2024
Many habibis coming to Dubai in 2024… The Dubai International Airport is indeed the busiest international airport in the world, having welcomed a record-breaking 92 million passengers into the gates of the city in 2024. This marks an annual nearly 6 per cent increase in the passenger traffic from 2023. Whew. The popularity of the city is only growing by the day, as more and more tourists are choosing to holiday in Dubai. Fast solidifying itself as a massive centre of travel and tourist hub, Dubai is now the place to be – great food, great entertainment, great hospitality. The figures show that the airport's international traffic beat its November forecast of 91.9 million annual passengers in 2024, up from 87 million in 2023 and exceeding its pre-Covid record of 89.1 million in 2018. This is a new high for the city. DXB recorded 300,000 flight movements, served 106 airline customers and operated flights to 272 cities in 107 countries in 2024. Dubai welcomed nearly 17 million international visitors the in the first 11 months of last year, the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism's latest data shows. Western Europe was its top source market followed by South Asia and the Gulf countries. Last year, the airport had welcomed a record-breaking 44.9 million guests in the first half of 2024, marking an eight per cent year-on-year increase. In terms of baggage, DXB managed a whopping 39.7 million bags in the first half of the year. The travel evolution… Big changes are coming in the world of travel for Dubai. Emirates has a brand new fleet – the Airbus A350, a new class of airplane, adding even more routes to new cities across the world and growing the travel network. It's a landmark move, as it's the first time the Dubai-born carrier has added a new aircraft type to its fleet since 2008. Some 65 A350s are poised to join the fleet in the coming years. Read more about the aircraft here. Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport will replace all operations at Dubai International and accommodate over 260 million passengers (the world's largest capacity) annually. Construction of the Dhs128 million terminal has started with the first phase expected to be complete in 10 years with an annual capacity of 150 million passengers annually. Read more about it here. @dxb Images: Socials/Supplied > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
