Dubai International Airport (DXB) is slated to undergo a massive makeover in order to become a cutting-edge’smart’ airport, according to Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. This endeavour is expected to cost between AED6 billion and AED10 billion. The five- to seven-year strategy seeks to improve the airport experience by introducing new commercial and culinary partnerships, extending lounges and leisure facilities, adding circulation space, and boosting check-in counters.
The major goal of this improvement is to keep DXB as the world’s busiest international airport. Future upgrades might include technological advancements such as clever security scanners that eliminate the need to remove beverages during security inspections.
This development strategy will allow DXB to function at full capacity for the next decade or so, after which activities will be progressively transferred to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). DWC’s plans include being the world’s largest airport by 2050, with an annual capacity of more than 260 million people.
Phase 1 of DWC development is scheduled to be completed by 2030, and will include two new runways, Concourse 1, and the West Terminal building, with a total annual capacity of 130 million passengers.
Griffiths emphasised that after DXB achieves full capacity and DWC is functioning at its present capacity of 32 million passengers per year, a complete long-term strategy for the new airport would be considered by the mid-2030s.
