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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.
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?
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