Dubai Al Maktoum Airport - new airport of the UAE

Dubai, the major city of the homonymous emirate is currently served by one of world’s major airports in terms of the numbers of passengers. Dubai International Airport – DXB handles over 78 million passengers per year. This impressive number, however, may soon be overshadowed as Dubai’s second international airport is rapidly expanding its activity.

Dubai World Central
The prospects of running out of capacity and limitation of growth possibilities due to the proximity of the city centre made it evident that Dubai would need a new airport in order to support the continuous development of transportation in the emirate.  

Plans were drawn for an airport situated outside of the city and incorporated into a special economic zone. Designated as Dubai World Central, this area located approximately 23 miles southwest of Dubai centre houses a wide choice of business-related activities, such as transportation, logistics, trade and exhibition, commerce, etc...

See map of Dubai World Central location.

Residential, retail and leisure areas were also incorporated into Dubai World Central, located in Jebel Ali, not far from Palm Jebel Ali, the artificial palm-shaped archipelago which, when finished, will surpass in size the original Palm Jumeirah.

Dubai Al Maktoum Airport – DWC is a crucial element of this multi-billion investment.

 A central location in the UAE and within comprehensive transportation network makes Dubai World Central and its airport a major gateway to the markets of Middle East and Northern Africa and the main transportation hub in the region. It is connected to sea (via dedicated road to Jebel Ali port), the road network and, in the future, also to the expanding Etihad Rail.

Al Maktoum Airport – the largest airport in the world?
Phase one of Al Maktoum Airport was completed in 2010, when the airport initiated cargo operations. First passenger flights at Al Maktoum were launched only three years later, in October 2013. After the fairly slow initial phase, Al Maktoum is finally ‘taking off’.

In late 2016 there are nearly 20 airlines operating at Al Maktoum Airport, a large part of them offering seasonal charter flights (for example Thomson Airways with routes from UK, Primera Air or TUI Netherlands). Year-round routes at the new Dubai airport are available from Qatar Airways, Flydubai, Jazeera Airways, Rotana Jet and Azal Jet. The Hungarian airline Wizzair is the first European low-cost airline with established routes at Dubai Al Maktoum Airport.

It is still relatively little compared to nearly 90 carriers which operate at Dubai’s main airport. According to the existing plans, however, in a foreseeable future the Al Maktoum Airport will have a capacity to handle 120 million passengers, being able to accommodate 100 of world’s largest passenger aircrafts as Airbus A380.

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