Dubai’s
ruler and Prime Minister
of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, today made a big
announcement on social media platform X, declaring his approval of new
passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), situated about 28
miles outside of Dubai. Construction is set to begin immediately.
In fact, he
intends for this secondary airfield to take over all operations from the
emirate’s bustling Dubai International Airport (DXB) "within the next 10
years", according to The
Sun. DXB is currently the world’s busiest airport when measured by
international passenger traffic.
Upon completion, the
newly expanded Al Maktoum International Airport will be the largest of any
airport on the planet, measuring five times the size of DXB and boasting a
capacity of up to 260
million passengers annually. At a projected cost of 128 billion AED
($34.85 billion), the 27-square-mile airport will feature five parallel runways—besting
DXB’s two—a whopping 400 aircraft gates. “New aviation technologies will be
employed for the first time in the aviation sector,” Dubai’s ruler disclosed.
President of the
Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and CEO of Emirates
Airlines, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said, "The initial phase of the project will be
completed within a decade, with a capacity to serve 150 million passengers
annually."
The reason DWC has
been selected for this honor is that DXB, which saw 86.9 million passengers in 2023, cannot be
expanded due to its city-central position, being surrounded by residential neighborhoods
and two major highways.
DWC, on the other
hand, which initially opened in 2010, sits on the outskirts of Dubai and is currently surrounded
mainly by empty desert—the perfect setting for such a major expansion project.
The area won’t remain
vacant for long, though, as plans have also been drawn up for an “airport city”
adjacent to DWC that will house a million people. “It will host the world's
leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors,” Sheikh al Maktoum
asserted.
According to Business
Today, Emirates Airlines’ CEO also divulged that once fully operational,
DWC will become the new hub for the UAE’s
flagship carrier, low-cost carrier Flydubai and their partner airlines—making
it the epicenter for global connections in the region.
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