Dubai International Airport has been the world’s busiest airport for international travel for the past ten years, with nearly 87 million passengers using the facility in the last year alone. However, as growth continues to strain its capacity, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler, has announced the start of construction on a new $35 billion airport terminal that will be the largest in the world once finished.
This new terminal will be five times the size of the current Dubai International Airport and will be able to handle up to 260 million passengers annually. The plan is to eventually transfer all operations from Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport.
Sheikh Mohammed envisions creating an entire city around the airport in Dubai South, with housing for a million people and opportunities for leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors. This new project is geared towards future generations, ensuring continuous development for the children and grandchildren of Dubai. It is set to become the world’s airport, port, urban hub, and global center.
Once completed, Al Maktoum International Airport will become the new home of Emirates airline, featuring five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates. This development will further solidify Dubai’s position as a key aviation hub. CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, sees this as a bold step towards expanding Dubai’s aviation infrastructure.