The world’s busiest international airport is set to close in the coming years and relocate to a new site.
All services at Dubai International Airport (DXB) will eventually move to the brand new Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), according to Dubai Airport’s CEO Paul Griffiths.
The megaproject, set to cost around £25.8 billion (Dhs128 billion), will see Al Maktoum International Airport eventually become the world’s largest-capacity airport, capable of accommodating 260 million passengers annually.
When will Dubai International Airport close and move to Al Maktoum?
Operations will transition from Dubai to Al Maktoum International Airport in 2032, once DXB reaches maximum capacity, according to Time Out.
Mr Griffiths, speaking at the Dubai Airshow last year, explained: “Within two years, we’ll cross that 100 million mark and then, of course, we’re looking towards 114 million people coming through DXB by 2031.”
The transition between airports will then take place in 2032, at which point Dubai International Airport will close.
Mr Griffiths, speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in 2025, said: “The current thinking is that when DXB gets to a point where we’ve got enough capacity created at DWC (Al Maktoum International Airport) to make the complete transition, that we will move every single service from DXB to DWC.
“There’s little sense in operating two major airport hubs in such close proximity, within 70 kilometers of each other.
“The other point to remember is that by then, if we’ve done our sums of calculations right, every single asset at DXB will be close to the end of its useful operating life.
“So the economics of keeping DXB open will not really be possible to do unless we invest a huge amount of money.”
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The full Al Maktoum project is unlikely to be completed until around 2057, according to Time Out.
At this point, Al Maktoum is expected to be the world’s largest airport with a capacity of around 260 million.
An official redevelopment plan for the DXB site has not yet been confirmed.
