Designs for a new passenger terminal costing Dh128 billion ($34.8 billion) at Al Maktoum International Airport Dubai were approved this Sunday and construction commenced as the emirate increases airport capacity to meet growing travel demand.
Upon completion, Al Maktoum International Airport will have “the world’s largest capacity”, reaching up to 260 million passengers, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, and Ruler of Dubai, said on X.
The new project will be five times the size of the current Dubai International Airport, currently ranked the top globally for international passenger traffic. It will “fully absorb Dubai International Airport’s operations in 10 years”, Dubai Media Office said.
The airport spanned over 70 square kilometers, will feature 400 aircraft gates, five parallel runways, and new aviation technology. It will have the capacity to handle 12 million tons of cargo annually.
The first phase of the project is expected to be ready within 10 years, with the capability to facilitate 150 million passengers annually. The airport will offer public transport links including the metro, bus, and city air transport.
“As we build an entire city around the airport in Dubai South, demand for housing for a million people will follow. It will host the world’s leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“We are building a new project for future generations … Dubai will be the world’s airport, its port, its urban hub, and its new global center.”
Dubai International Airport (DXB), which catered to 86.9 million passengers last year, with a growth of 31.7 percent annually, reserved its spot as the world’s busiest international hub for passengers for a 10th consecutive year, data by the Airports Council International this month showed. The airport recorded a total of 416,405 flight movements in 2023, the highest on record at DXB, and is linked to more than 260 destinations through more than 100 international airlines.
The emirate is also recording strong tourism growth. Dubai reported its best annual tourism performance last year when international arrivals to the emirate increased 19.4 percent to 17.15 million. As part of Dubai’s economic agenda D33, the emirate aims to attract Dh100 billion in additional tourism investments and receive 40 million hotel guests in 2031.
“The new airport, which will ultimately be over five times the size of Dubai International, will prepare the ground for the next 40 years of anticipated growth in Dubai’s aviation sector,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.
“It will respond to the hub airline’s ambitious plans in terms of fleet acquisition and passenger growth,” said Sheikh Ahmed, who is also chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group.
The airport is also being designed to “strongly contribute to mitigate environmental emissions” and aims to achieve LEED gold certification, he said.
“Al Maktoum International is planned in such a way as to represent a leap into the future.”
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The new airport will create a projected workforce and residential requirement for more than 1 million people living and working in Dubai South, which has been under development since 2007.
