It is no surprise that Dubai International Airport is one of the busiest travel hubs in the world, as it is one of the most prestigious and fascinating destinations on the planet. But it could all be set to change – it’s set to close the airport.
Over 90 million passengers pass through the airport each year, and is known annually as DXB. This is an important hub for long distance flights further from the UK. But now it is clear that the huge site is set to close. The expansion of nearby Al Maktoum International Airport, which opened in 2010, means that the old DXB will become redundant, London Evening Standard reports.
CEO Paul Griffiths confirmed that all air traffic would move from the old site that eventually opened in 1960 to a more modern facility. Al Maktoum International Airport, known as DWC, is currently undergoing a massive expansion of £28 billion.
The new terminal is scheduled to open in 2032 and will expand even further until the 2050s. Once that’s done, the airport will be the largest in the world, five times the size of a DXB, with runways of 260 million passengers, 400 aircraft gates and capacity each year.
While this is running, DXB is expected to continue running, but moving to a new site will phase out the operation. This means that older airports are likely to remain open for at least the next decade.
“There’s little meaning to operating two main hubs and being close to each other,” Griffith told the Arabian Travel Market Conference earlier this week. “Move all services to DWC.”
He added that by the time the expansion of DWC is approaching completion, “all assets of DXB will approach the end of its useful operating role,” and as a result, “the economy of keeping DXB open is impossible unless you invest a large amount of money.”
He added that the land currently occupying by the airport will be redeveloped once it is closed. “DXB will be closed and we will redevelop the area,” he said. “It expands the city.”
Travelers from the UK make up one of the largest groups visiting Dubai. British Airways and Emirates operate flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
