Dubai Airport Authority announced this month that it was delighted with the city ruler’s decision to execute the developments of what will be the ‘world’s biggest airport’. This $32 billion project has a sign that the city has moved on from the economic crisis that Middle East found itself in 2009.
The development of the project, known as Al Maktoum Airport, has been divided into two phases. The first phase, which will hopefully be completed in six to eight years, will involve the construction of two satellite buildings large enough to accommodate 120 million passengers annually. At the end of the first phase, the airport will also be able to harbour up to 100 double-decker A380 aircraft at any given time.
The plans include constructing two new runways and two concourses large enough to house dozens of aircraft gates each. By the end of the second phase, the airport is planned to house five runways large and spacious enough to allow five planes to take off at the same time and have an adequate number of gates for hundred wide-body planes.
The status of being the biggest airport in the world currently rests with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport, which served more than 94 million passengers last year. The current Dubai airport lies at seventh on that list, accommodating about 64 million travellers. It is also undergoing expansion with plans to open a new concourse by next year.
Many major airlines, including the Emirates, are expected to move their operations into the new airport as soon as the first construction phase is complete. This will leave space in the current airport for the more than a hundred airlines that presently operate from it.
Earlier this week, Dubai Airports announced that the plans for the new airport included using the latest technology in order to ensure efficient day to day operations, including using less time spent on completing travel formalities and reducing walking distances so the travellers can save time. The airport will provide and create the capacity Dubai will need in the upcoming decades and will use state of the art facilities to revolutionize the airport experience.
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