By 2050, Dubai Airport will be able to handle up to 250 million passengers per year.
Due to the growth in air travel, both Dubai airports are planning major expansions, reports Euronews.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the world’s busiest international hub. In the next 5-7 years, it is planned to reconstruct it for 1.5 to 2.5 billion euros.
DXB will serve up to 120 million passengers a year within 15 years, according to plans unveiled last week by Dubai Airport chief executive Paul Griffiths.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Once DXB reaches peak capacity, Dubai’s second hub – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) – will become “the largest airport in the world,” planners say.
DWC currently handles approximately 1.6 million passengers per year. But by 2050, this figure could rise to more than 250 million people.
“We need to accelerate work to increase airport capacity soon,” Griffiths said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week.
What will Dubai International Airport look like?
DXB is one of the largest airports in the world.
It served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of 2023, exceeding 2019 figures for the same period. According to experts, annual figures will reach 85 million people, which will be due to the restoration of air traffic with China.
The redevelopment at DXB will include additional lounges, check-in counters, and seating, and new security scanners will be introduced that do not require passengers to remove liquids from their carry-on luggage.
In addition, restaurants and shops will be open in each terminal.
What will Dubai World Central Airport look like?
Dubai World Central currently handles only a small portion of the emirate’s incoming flights.
However, the authorities have plans to turn it into the largest airport in the world. Dubai previously shelved its €30 billion DWC expansion plan, but it may be revisited.
According to local media reports, the first phase of the project will increase the airport’s capacity to approximately 130 million passengers per year. Its area will increase to 56 square meters. km.
“Once completed, #DubaiSouth will have the world’s largest airport and multimodal transport infrastructure connecting air, land and sea,” the official statement said.
The environmental footprint of this expansion is likely to be enormous.
In 2019, DXB emitted more than 16 million metric tons of CO2, the highest of any airport in the world.