Dubai built the world's largest airport in the desert

The construction process of Al Maktoum International Airport with the capacity to accommodate 160 million passengers will take decades in the desert near Dubai .

Dubai first announced plans to expand Al Maktoum into the world's largest airport a decade ago. (Photo: Dubai Airports)

More than 10 years ago, Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), about 32km southwest of downtown Dubai, was designed to become the largest and busiest airport in the world in the future. close hybrid. Dubai Airports, the authority that manages Dubai International Airport (DXB), and the new airport promise that when DWC is completed, the facility can handle more than 160 million passengers per year and 12 million tons of cargo. That number is nearly 63 million more passengers than the world's currently busiest airport, Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International (in 2022) and nearly 100 million more passengers than Dubai International Airport, according to CNN .

However, a decade after its first passenger flight and 13 years since it first opened to cargo operations, Dubai's newest airport is still a work in progress. DWC became a hub for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations. This airport is also where many air cargo companies such as Emirates Cargo operate, welcoming private jets and some unscheduled flights. However, scheduled passenger services are quite limited with a few low-cost carriers operating mainly in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia.

At the recent Dubai Airshow at DWC, Paul Griffiths, managing director of Dubai Airports, revealed that they prioritize expansion and investment at DXB to meet customer demand, boosting annual passenger numbers at the airport. this flight from 100 million to 120 million passengers. The expansion of DXB not only helps accommodate growth in the near future but also provides more time for authorities to determine a strategy for expanding DWC in phase 2.

Griffiths shared at the exhibition the design for the new super airport, but the miniature 3D model displayed with 6 parallel runways and 3 giant terminals was outdated. However, Griffiths revealed a modular approach to gradually expanding DWC over a timeframe that could extend into the 2050s. "We're not planning an airport with terminals. We're going to change it completely." whole business model for airports, making them more accessible and removing all the processes that customers have had to follow for so long ," said Griffiths.

Accordingly, DWC will become the center of a much larger plan called Dubai South , helping to create a completely new city spread across 145km ² of desert south of Dubai. This new urban area is gradually taking shape, expected to include 8 neighborhoods divided by specific industries or activities, combining residential and commercial areas. With the airport in the center, the project will form an aviation megacity. In the future, Emirates and its partner flyDubai will switch from DXB to DWC.