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(CNN) — When it comes to airport expansion projects, the Gulf States are in fierce competition.
Saudi Arabia’s gigantic airport has already broken size records, but Dubai’s new plans are intensifying the race to become the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume.
Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport currently holds the crown of the world’s largest airport by surface area. At 780 square kilometers, it is larger than that of its neighboring country, Bahrain.
The Saudis are not resting on their laurels either. The country is working on building a new six-runway airport at King Fahd International Airport by 2030, with capacity for 185 million passengers a year.
By comparison, this is 75 million more than the 110 million passengers the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, is expected to serve this year.
The airport will be the centerpiece of a much larger project, called Dubai South, which sees the creation of an entirely new city on a 145 km2 desert strip south of Dubai. Credit: Government of Dubai/AP
And it’s not the first time Hartsfield-Jackson has participated in the rodeo. He has held that position for more than two decades every year, except in 2020.
Dubai, however, has just made a big bet by unveiling plans on Sunday for a new US$34.85 billion (AED 128 billion) passenger terminal at Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC), the world’s largest airport. new to the emirate.
Betting has just reached a new level.
260 million passengers per year
This is the current Al Maktoum International terminal, opened in 2010. Credit: Markus Mainka/dpa/picture alliance/Sipa USA
Since DWC – Al Maktoum International opened 14 years ago, it was always planned that this brand new airport located about 32 kilometers southwest of downtown Dubai would become the world’s largest passenger handling airport.
However, now the plan is for the megahub to accommodate 260 million passengers a year. This is 100 million more passengers than previous forecasts and would dwarf the operations of almost every other airport on the planet.
“It will be five times larger than the current Dubai International Airport, and all operations of Dubai International Airport will be transferred to it in the coming years,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, said on Sunday when presenting the strategic plan of Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects. “The airport will have 400 boarding gates and five parallel runways,” he added.
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central on Friday, April 26, 2024. Credit: Planet Labs PBC/AP
Dubai World Central is the newest of Dubai’s two international airports. The other, Dubai International Airport, was just ranked the second busiest in the world, but its traffic will eventually end up at the newer airport, according to DWC’s expansion plans.
The airport will be the centerpiece of a much larger project, called Dubai South, which sees the creation of an entirely new city on a 145-square-kilometer strip of desert south of Dubai.
This entire new district, of which some parts are already beginning to take shape, will have eight neighborhoods, each of them assigned to a specific industry or activity, with a mix of residential and commercial areas.
“By building an entire city around Dubai South Airport, demand for housing for a million people will follow. It will host the world’s leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“We are building a new project for future generations, guaranteeing continuous and stable development for our children and their children in turn. Dubai will be the world’s airport, its port, its urban axis and its new global center.”
When completed, it will occupy a generous 70 square kilometers, although this is still less than a tenth of the area of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport. Saudi Arabia will continue to hold that world record for some time.
The plan is for the megahub to accommodate 260 million passengers a year. This is 100 million more passengers than previous forecasts for the airport. Credit: Dubai Airport
Other candidates from the region
Al Maktoum International: How the world’s hardest-working airport could one day be. Credit: Dubai Airports
Currently, Dubai World Central’s main function is as an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul centre. It is also home to several air cargo operators (including Emirates Cargo, the cargo subsidiary of the UAE’s flag carrier) and operates business jets and some charter flights. According to new plans, these cargo operations will handle up to 12 million tons per year.
As for the calendar, take note of the sheikh’s words about “our children and their children.”
The plan is for the first phase to be ready in 10 years, with capacity expanded to 150 million passengers annually. Beyond that, we are looking at a period of decades.
“The new airport will pave the way for the next 40 years of expected growth in Dubai’s aviation sector,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The projected passenger volume would dwarf virtually all airport operations on the planet. Credit: Dubai Airport
On Sunday, the flag carrier Emirates announced in X its long-awaited move to its https://twitter.com/emirates/status/1784518176014741803 at Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International.
Meanwhile, it is business as usual at Dubai International Airport (DXB), which this month earned the title of the world’s second busiest airport for the first time, with 104.7 passengers in 2023.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that “DXB will remain the main hub […] over the next few years as the second phase of DWC takes shape.
Nor should we lose sight of Hamad International Airport, in neighboring Qatar, a direct competitor of Dubai in the long-distance connections market, which is preparing to expand its capacity to more than 60 million passengers annually.
An artist’s rendering shows an interior view of the planned expansion of Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). Credit: Dubai Airports
This is in addition to other airport expansion projects in the region: the opening of a new US$1.8 billion airport in Muscat, Oman, in 2018, the new US$1.1 billion terminal in Bahrain in 2021 and, more recently, in November 2023, of Abu Dhabi’s large new Terminal A, a 780,000 square meter facility capable of handling up to 79 aircraft simultaneously.
At the northern end of the Gulf, Kuwait International Airport is building a new terminal designed by the prestigious British architecture firm Foster+Partners, which will have capacity for 25 million passengers a year initially, with the possibility of doubling it to 50 million in the future.
And less than 32 kilometers from the center of Dubai, Sharjah International Airport, headquarters of the low-cost airline Air Arabia, is also increasing its capacity to 20 million passengers annually.
