Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) will undergo a US$ 32bn expansion, which will enable the airport to accommodate more than 220 million passengers a year.
Anticipated to be the biggest airport project in the world, the expansion will be built in two phases over six to eight years. The first phase includes two satellite buildings with capacity for 120 million passengers annually and accommodate 100 A380 aircraft at any one time. The entire development will cover an area of 56 square kilometres.
More than its size, the new airport’s uniqueness lies in a radically new approach to ensure that latest technology and efficient processes will cut time spent completing travel formalities and reduce walking distances, enabling passengers to make fast and efficient connections between hundreds of destinations worldwide.
DWC, Dubai’s second airport, opened its doors to passengers on October 27, 2013, while cargo operations were launched at on June 27, 2010.
The existing facility at DWC includes a single A380 compatible runway; a passenger terminal with capacity of 5 million passengers per annum (expandable to 7 mppa); a cargo terminal building with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum and a 92-metre air traffic control tower.
The vision for the Al Maktoum International is to develop into the next generation airport, by adopting and future proofing for the latest innovative technologies.
• Biometrics & Smart Passenger Tracking, such as iris scan, palm scan, RFID boarding cards and other innovative means in order to facilitate the seamless flow of passengers through the terminals with minimum paper processing.
- Shorter passenger walking distances within the terminal and concourse facilities. This would make for a more compact terminal design while maintaining a more pleasant experience for the passenger.
- Queuing elimination, by reducing the number of passengers/baggage processes at the airport terminal (i.e. confirmation of use of service and check-in outside the airport) allowing the passengers uninterrupted flow to areas within close proximity of the aircraft.
- Baggage handling system that allows passengers to separate from their bags as early as possible with a personalised collection upon arrival to provide a pleasant and comfortable travel experience.
Quick Facts about the Expansion Project
- Five parallel Code F runways of 4.5 km each in length spaced wide apart in order to provide for simultaneous operation.
- Instrument Landing System (Cat IIIB) which allows operations under low visibility conditions.
- Two terminal facilities on either side of the airport site, West and East, providing a capacity for over 50 million passengers in total.
- Four concourses featuring an innovative triple-plus layout 2.8 km long encompassing three nodes, each the size of 7 football fields.
- Concourses, each with 100 wide body aircraft contact stands and 65 million capacity, totaling over 220 million passengers capacity for the entire airport with over 400 wide body contact stands.
- Innovative concourse functional design aiming to raise passenger experience to new levels, never before experienced at any airport.
- A 6 track train system, connecting the airport’s two terminals with its four concourses designed in such a way, that allows the arriving and departing passengers to reach their destinations on a fast travel journey; transferring passengers to circulate between concourses in a set minimum connect time, thus enabling them to board onward connections quickly and comfortably.
- A massive 8 square km cargo facility area at the South of the airport, supported by the quick cargo transfer facilities.