In 2024, plans were formalized for a major expansion to Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport, which will replace Dubai International Airport, and will become Emirates’ new home. There hasn’t been much clarity regarding the timeline with which this project will be completed, but we’re now getting more of a sense of that.
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Background on Dubai Al Maktoum Airport
For context, Dubai International Airport (DXB) is Dubai’s current major international airport, and already consistently ranks as one of the busiest airports in the world, with the only busier airport being Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). In past years, passenger traffic at the airport has approached 100 million annually. This is largely thanks to Emirates’ route network, which has made Dubai a global hub.
Dubai has had bigger aspirations than this, though. Even though Abu Dhabi is just down the “road,” Dubai has a second airport, Dubai Al Maktoum Airport (DWC), which is commonly referred to as Dubai World Central Airport.
The airport technically opened in 2010, and the intent all along has been for Emirates to eventually relocate to this airport. However, things haven’t exactly gone as planned. The airport currently primarily handles cargo planes, and it’s also where Emirates parks many of its jets that aren’t flying (during the pandemic, the airport was basically a huge A380 and 777 parking lot).
The goal has been for the airport to eventually become the new hub in the region, and replace the existing airport. However, over the years, the government hasn’t really stayed consistent with that goal.
For example, the airport was initially supposed to be fully operational by 2017, though the global financial crisis caused that timeline to pushed back by a decade, to 2027. Then in 2019, expansion on the airport was frozen, as Dubai seemingly didn’t want to keep spending money on an airport with such an uncertain future. This came after 2018 was the slowest year of growth in the UAE since 2010. Then the pandemic hit, delaying these plans even more.
Dubai Al Maktoum Airport will see massive expansion
In April 2024, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, approved plans for new passenger terminals at Dubai Al Maktoum Airport, kicking off a 128 billion AED (~35 billion USD) project. The plan is for Dubai Al Maktoum Airport to become the largest in the world.
The expectation is that once the initial new facility opens, the airport will have the capacity to handle 150 million passengers per year. However, in the long run, after a further expansion, the airport will have a capacity of up to 260 million passengers per year.
Size wise, the airport will be 70 square kilometers, five times the size of the current Dubai International Airport. Al Maktoum Airport will have five different passenger terminals, which will be able to accommodate up to 400 aircraft gates. The airport will also have a staggering five parallel runways.
Given how big of a hub this is, this will also cause Dubai to build an entire city around the airport in the coming years, as part of the Dubai South project, and that will include housing for a million additional people. As you would expect, public transportation to and from the airport will also be a priority, given that this is quite a bit south of downtown Dubai.
In 2024, it was announced that all operations would move to the new Dubai Al Maktoum Airport within a decade, so by 2034, give or take. However, in recent times, we’ve learned that this timeline has actually been moved forward quite a bit. Specifically, both Emirates and FlyDubai intend to make Dubai Al Maktoum Airport their new home by 2032.
I suspect that this timeline is pretty firm at this point, given the massive number of aircraft that Dubai-based airlines have on order, which simply can’t operate from the current airport.
I’m happy to see Dubai’s airport plans
The current Dubai International Airport is nearing capacity, and you can’t construct a new mega-airport overnight, so it’s good that the government has finally committed to a firm plan. Not only does Emirates need a new airport in order to grow, but it even needs a new airport in order to maintain current capacity.
That’s because as Emirates increasingly evolves its fleet, it’ll need to fly more aircraft in order to carry the same number of passengers. Based on current estimates, Emirates will retire its Airbus A380s by the 2040s, and will then fly Boeing 777s, Boeing 787s, and Airbus A350s, all of which are lower capacity. For that matter, FlyDubai is also expanding massively, and plans to have a fleet of hundreds of planes, so the airline also needs a new home.
I’m very curious to see what Emirates’ transition plan looks like when the new terminal does open, since it’ll be quite a major transformation. I imagine this will more or less be done overnight, given the extent to which Emirates’ network is reliant on connections. Then again, Emirates is far from the first airline to make a transition like this.
Design-wise, the new airport looks great. Frankly at this point, Dubai International Airport is rather uncompetitive in terms of passenger experience, compared to some other hubs in the region, so I can’t wait to learn more details there. Maybe Emirates will finally create a truly world class ground experience for premium cabin passengers.
Bottom line
There are finally firm plans for airport operations in Dubai to shift from Dubai International Airport to Dubai Al Maktoum Airport by 2032. Construction is now underway on the world’s highest capacity passenger terminals.
Once the updated airport terminal opens, Dubai Al Maktoum Airport is expected to initially have the capacity for up to 150 million passengers annually, though over time, that should increase to 260 million passengers annually. This airport will also become Emirates’ new home.
What do you make of plans for Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport?
Good planning, but what will they do with such a massive adjacent redundant airport? (current DXB that is)
Swap the roles and have that be the cargo + parking space airfield?
I frequently visit that airport for the Miles & More points run, but it's now a truly isolated airport in the middle of nowhere... Even all the gates are bus stands...
Will they actually manage it by that time? Personally, I'm negative about it, considering how many times the schedule has been delayed... And even if it were possible, the fact that it's incredibly far from Dubai's main centres is a serious problem...
Excellent news!!
Why are you obsessed with Izlam culture? It's called Dubai World Central. I just find it all so odd how the author really enjoys talking about Muzlims and Izlam.
Hopefully the metro will reach it by 2032. Out of the city.
while dxb is showing its age, I will definitely miss the current location of it. there's nothing quite like having a major international airport in the heart of the city. seeing beautiful a380s and 777s taking off and landing will be missed.
Flew on those World Cup shuttles to Qatar in 2022. Definitely need to see more of it.
DXB is a dump, so this is much needed.
Was pretty cool about 15-20 years ago. Now, DOH is better.
Mr. Pro-labor? Yea, right.
Just you wait till India and Indian airlines get their act together and the M3 can no longer use its potential millions as a catchment. Will see then how well this strategy build works out.
New ME airport will be fully operational by 2040. Will AI?
"Just you wait till India and Indian airlines get their act together." Ha. Hell will freeze over before that happens.
We may be waiting a long time
Last time I flew INDIA AIRLINES, I found a Dookie in the seatback pocket! So disgusting.
I'm pretty sure I haven't got sufficient years left to
"wait till India and Indian airlines get their act together".
You'd need to be a new-born to see that happen.
My sense is that they have a lot of smart people planning and deciding. And, we amateurs have nothing but opinions.
There is a real risk here that the airport will become too big to be a great passenger experience.
While the fairly new IST airport looks lovely, it can easily take 45+ minutes from landing to reaching the gate and if your connecting flight is leaving from the other side of the terminal, it could be another 30+ minutes to walk to your gate. I wouldn't dream of booking a connection through IST of...
There is a real risk here that the airport will become too big to be a great passenger experience.
While the fairly new IST airport looks lovely, it can easily take 45+ minutes from landing to reaching the gate and if your connecting flight is leaving from the other side of the terminal, it could be another 30+ minutes to walk to your gate. I wouldn't dream of booking a connection through IST of less than 100 minutes for this reason whereas I wouldn't hesitate to book this connection through AUH, DOH or SIN.
If DWC is even bigger than IST, it may mean that any connection under 120 minutes is not advisable. At this point, what is the benefit of this airport to the passenger? Will they want their travel times to be longer just to experience it, or would they instead choose smaller airports with easier connections?
IST is one massive terminal, which is what makes it such an awful airport. The new Dubai airport will have multiple terminals, like most airports.
@NFSF
What happens when you land at say Terminal 1 from Mumbai and your connection takes off from Terminal 3 to Boston.
Having multiple times doesn't give it an advantage. I imagine that Emirates and flydubai will hold about 75% of all traffic which will no doubt have to spread their operations across multiple terminals.
Having flown through DXB, I will concede that it's a bit shabby in various areas, so DWC will be a nice upgrade.
That being said, does Emirates really think it can grow at this level continuously to need all the capacity?
Seats flown in the world have never been higher, more and more airlines are expanding and ramping up. QR, Etihad, and more airlines are also stepping up.
At some point Emirates' growth will level...
Having flown through DXB, I will concede that it's a bit shabby in various areas, so DWC will be a nice upgrade.
That being said, does Emirates really think it can grow at this level continuously to need all the capacity?
Seats flown in the world have never been higher, more and more airlines are expanding and ramping up. QR, Etihad, and more airlines are also stepping up.
At some point Emirates' growth will level off and they'll be sitting with a new airport that they don't need all that extra space for.
Regardless, I expect Emirates to open up an arrivals lounge, even QR also has one. Especially if Emirates is supposed to be the gateway funnel to growing Dubai as a city, an arrivals lounge will enable this even more.
Won't it make better sense to have 1-2 headhouses and terminals rather that multiple concourses? Something along the lines of 2 Hong Kong like terminals, but longer.
A higher portion of Hongkong passengers are O/D
Dubai, most especially the new airport will have a higher portion of its traffic as connecting passengers.
Heashouse usually feature checkin area and security which connecting passengers don't need.
Dirty and trashy area of the world , similar to Pakistan .
Marginally better than Bangladesh or Afghanistan .
Nonsense.
Actually, no, TOTAL nonsense. Compare GDP and HDI of Dubai to USA. GDP is 15% higher and HDI 12.8% higher.
Do you seriously think that? Perhaps your pair are undescended?
"Dick Cocksmith"... yeah, that's @Penile, for sure.
Middle East air transportation is far more competitive than when EK set up shop so lots of airports are gunning for the growth traffic that DWC wants to capture.
Most of the numbers for the new airport are impressive but at least two US airports already have 5 parallel runways - ATL and DFW. DFW and DEN have more runways than ATL but ATL has proven crosswind runways aren't necessary for air transport operations at least in N. Georgia.
ORD has the most runways (8, 6 are parallel) of any commercial airport worldwide.
Yes. You are right
Totally false. Source?
"You're wrong! I don't have proof so you show me proof that you're wrong!"
Atlanta will be expanding further to maintain its record as the largest. Airport property growing by 22.7% in 2027.
Hopefully they have plans for a proper passenger transit system between ALL the terminals. DXB is currently poor and the other big airport in the region - IST - is even worse.
Yep, new fashion for mega airports seems to be: do not install internal mass transit and let people go on a 5 km hike on hard floors to get to their gates. That helps with monetisation I guess.
Say what you want I like, I like LHR's T5 layout better with the parallel satellites and the people mover connecting them. I would like it even better if the main terminal building was in the...
Yep, new fashion for mega airports seems to be: do not install internal mass transit and let people go on a 5 km hike on hard floors to get to their gates. That helps with monetisation I guess.
Say what you want I like, I like LHR's T5 layout better with the parallel satellites and the people mover connecting them. I would like it even better if the main terminal building was in the middle.
The issue is that airport layout design has become a nickel and diming optimisation rather than an exercise in logistics.
ME airlines have realized that pax accept 3h connections as safety margin and most of the time that time is used to extract currency from them. Latest airport layouts reflect this reality. You don't even see rolling walkways to help reduce the walking distance.