Not everyone is aware of this fact, but Dubai already has 2 operating airports. Dubai International, or DXB, is the main airport and the home to Emirates, however there is also Dubai World Central, or DWC. I compared the two airports in their current layout in this other post, but things are about to change and fast. The Dubai Airport authority has in fact announced a massive investment to get Dubai World Central phase two construction under way.
Why Did Phase 2 Take So Long To Launch?
Dubai World Central (DWC), or Al Maktoum International Airport, is the future for aviation in Dubai. No doubt about that. However There has been more than one bump on the road to completing this mega structure.
Mainly, with the first phase completed, Covid hit and brought aviation worldwide to a standstill. A halt from which airlines have taken time to recover from. Even the mighty Emirates had its work cut out for itself.
In such an uncertain environment it was impossible to move forward with such a massive project. First we all, including Emirates, had to figure out what post-covid aviation would look like. Well we can all agree now that aviation and air transport is likely only to grow in coming years. This has brought back the confidence necessary to fund phase 2 of the DWC project.
What Does Dubai World Central Phase 2 Consist Of?
At the moment Dubai World Central, located in a much less densely utilised part of the city inland from the coast, is home to cargo operations and some low cost carrier flights. The terminal is, to put it nicely, not the most luxurious and the airport is mainly known to be the home of the Dubai Air Show.
However phase 2 of the Dubai World Central project will completely transform the airport into a mega hub. Once completed it’ll boost capacity from current 5 million passengers per year, to 150 million. Once the entire project is completed capacity will reach a mind boggling 260 million passengers per year.
Also included in this second phase are the completion of the mid-field concourse 2 and the west terminal of the airport. This expansion will allow the airport to surpass current Dubai International Airport in terms of capacity. However the true scale of the project will be achieved when all 5 runways will be completed with all 4 mid-field concourses. The runways are designed with separation sufficient to operate 4 simultaneously. Something we are used to see mainly in US airports. All terminals and concourses will have 400 aircraft contact gates. A people-mover, more like a metro line will link all concourses. The scale of this airport is really difficult to comprehend.
When Will Dubai International Airport Be Retired?
It’ll be some time before DXB qualifies for retirement. The timeline is for DWC to take over within the next 10 years. Therefore by the mid 2030s all operations will moved over and Dubai International Airport will either shut down or remain active as a cargo hub.
I personally tend to believe that it’ll be shut down. Simply because the land where the current Dubai airport stands is extremely valuable. There would be huge possibilities for redevelopment in Garhoud and Deira. These are some of the city’s most densely populated areas.
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