Dubai plans to replace world’s busiest airport with bigger one

The Dubai International Airport.

PHOTO BY ARCHIVE

Dubai plans to replace world’s busiest airport with bigger one

Dubai is moving with a plan to replace the world’s busiest airport with an even bigger one as passenger traffic recovers, a top official said.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said designs are being drawn up for the $33 billion expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, which can accommodate more than 250 million passengers annually once completed.

Speaking at the Dubai Airshow, Griffiths said Al Maktoum International Airport should replace Dubai International in the 2030s.

“Once we’ve reached about 120 million (passengers a year), which is what we think our total capacity at DXB (Dubai International) is at the absolute maximum with everything optimised, we are going to need a new airport,” Griffiths said, “That is going to have to happen at some stage during the 2030s. We’re going to be working on those designs over the next few months.”

Griffiths said the new airport would be designed on a modular basis. “It stands to reason that Al Maktoum International has to be even bigger and even better (than Dubai International),” he said, calling it the “airport of the future”.

“This will be a project that extends way into the 2050s, because we take the long-term view here,” he said. ICA/Expat Media

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