Dubai has revealed ambitious plans for Al Maktoum International Airport, which will see it become the world’s largest capacity airport.

The Dhs128 billion project will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International Airport when it is eventually completed.

The existing airport in Dubai South, also known as Dubai World Central, serves a small fraction of the planned 260 million passengers it will eventually have capacity for.

But what is the history of the project? When can we expect it to be completed? And how will it change the city?

What is the history of Al Maktoum International Airport?

When it first opened in the year 2010, Al Maktoum International Airport had rather more humble beginnings compared to the grand plans mapped out for its future.

With phase one, it had only one runway and its sole purpose was for cargo flights, opening to passengers in 2013.

Construction of the airport began in 2005 with an ambition to eventually build a fully integrated ‘aerotropolis’ in Jebel Ali, Dubai South.

This will be a new city within the emirate based entirely around the airport. The airport will be at the centre of the planned 140 square kilometre project. There will be six clustered zones that include the Dubai Logistics City, Commercial City, Residential City, Aviation City and the Golf City.

The airport has had several different working titles, including Jebel Ali International Airport, Jebel Ali Airport City and Dubai World Central International Airport.

The announcement on Sunday April 28, 2024 was not the first time that the city had declared that Al Maktoum would eventually become the world’s busiest airport with reports from 2013 projecting that it would do so within a decade.

But with the latest announcement, it appears to be that the talk is over and that construction is finally underway.

What can we expect once Al Maktoum International Airport is complete?

Once the project is completed, Al Maktoum International Airport will be five times the size of the current Dubai International Airport which is already the world’s busiest for international passengers.

It will be able to accommodate up to 260 million passengers once completed, which, for context, dwarves the 86 million who flew through DXB in 2023.

Today, we approved the designs for the new passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport, and commencing construction of the building at a cost of AED 128 billion as part of Dubai Aviation Corporation’s strategy.

Al Maktoum International Airport will enjoy the… pic.twitter.com/oG973DGRYX

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 28, 2024

There will be more than 400 aircraft gates, five parallel runways with the highest operational specifications, and a total of five passenger terminal buildings. The airport will span 70 square kilometres once fully complete.

It will also see all operations currently at Dubai International Airport eventually move over to Al Maktoum International Airport in the coming years.

When can we expect the Al Maktoum International Airport project to be completed?

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and founder of the Emirates Group and chairman of Dubai World, says that the first phase of the project will be ready within 10 years and will accommodate 150 million passengers annually.

Speaking at the Dubai Airshow last year, the CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths revealed that the full project wouldn’t be completed until “way into the 2050s”.

He also said that once DXB reaches about 120 million passengers per year there will be a need for a new airport since Dubai International Airport is already fully optimised.

How will Al Maktoum International Airport change Dubai?

A brand new city within the city will be built in Dubai South as part of the plans. The aerotropolis has been under development and operation since 2007 in Dubai.

It will host the world’s leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors, which will bring a whole host of new jobs to Dubai.

This means that housing will be required for at least a million people according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The new airport will also require an integrated landside transport hub for roads, the Dubai Metro, and city air transport.

Where does Al Maktoum International Airport currently fly to?

Al Maktoum International Airport, or Dubai World Central as it is currently known, flies mainly to Russia and several other popular destinations for travellers from the UAE.

These include:

Bulgaria: Bourgas
Czechia: Prague
Italy: Milan
Libya: Benghazi
Luxembourg: Luxembourg
Maldives: Male
Russia: Grozny, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Moscow-Domodedovo, Novosibirsk, Sochi, Surgut, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg
Slovakia: Bratislava
Switzerland: Zurich

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