Al Maktoum International Airport Explained

Nativename-R:
Image2-Width:250
Iata:DWC
Icao:OMDW
Type:Public
Owner-Oper:Dubai Airports Company
City-Served:Emirate of Dubai
Location:Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates
Timezone:UAE Standard Time
Elevation-F:170
Coordinates:24.8883°N 55.1604°W
Pushpin Map:UAE#Persian Gulf#Indian Ocean#Middle East#West Asia#Asia#Eurasia#Afro-Eurasia
Pushpin Label:DWC/OMDW
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the UAE
Metric-Rwy:Y
R1-Number:12/30
R1-Length-M:4,500
R1-Length-F:14,764
R1-Surface:Asphalt
R2-Number:13/31
R2-Length-M:1,838
R2-Length-F:6,030
R2-Surface:Asphalt
Footnotes:Sourceː UAE AIP

Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central,[1] is an international airport in Jebel Ali, southwest of[2] Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that opened on 27 June 2010.[3] It is the main part of Dubai South, a planned residential, commercial and logistics complex.

When fully completed (originally expected 2027, now in 2030[4]), the airport will contain transport modes, logistics, and value-added services, including manufacturing and assembly, in a single free economic zone.[5] It will cover an area of 14400ha. The airport has a projected annual capacity of of freight and between 160 million[6] and 260 million passengers.[7], only a handful of airlines operated passenger services out of Al Maktoum International Airport with a focus on freight activity.

History

Construction

The 4500x runway was completed in 2007 after 600 days of construction with tests planned over the following six to eight months in order to fulfill its CAT III-C requirements.[8] [9] Construction of the airport's cargo terminal, the Al Maktoum Airport Cargo Gateway, which cost around US$75 million, was 50% complete by the end of 2008.

During the first phase of the project, the airport was planned to handle around 200000t of cargo per year, with the possibility of increasing to 800000t. The passenger terminal at this phase was designed to have a capacity of 5 million passengers per year.[10] It was planned to be the largest airport in the world in terms of freight handled, moving up to per year in 2013.[11]

The project was originally expected to be fully operational by 2017, although the 2007–2008 financial crisis subsequently postponed the completion of the complex to 2027. Previous working names for the airport complex have included "Jebel Ali International Airport", "Jebel Ali Airport City", and "Dubai World Central International Airport". The airport was eventually named the Al Maktoum International Airport after the House of Maktoum which rules the Emirate of Dubai.[12] The total cost of the airport has been estimated by the Dubai government to be $82 billion.[13]

Operations

Al Maktoum International Airport opened on 24 June 2010 with one runway and only cargo flights. The first flight into the airport occurred on 20 June 2010, when an Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777F landed after a flight from Hong Kong. The flight served as a test for various functions such as air traffic control, movement of aircraft on the ground, and security. According to Emirates, the flight was an "unmitigated success".[14]

On 24 February 2011, the airport was certified to handle passenger aircraft with up to 60 passengers.[15] The first passenger aircraft touched down on 28 February 2011, an Airbus A319CJ.[16] The airport officially opened for passenger flights on 26 October 2013 with Flynas and Wizz Air as the two carriers to operate from the airport.[17]

In the first quarter of 2014, 102,000 passengers went through the airport.[18] At the time of its opening, three cargo service airlines served Al Maktoum International Airport, including RUS Aviation, Skyline Air and Aerospace Consortium. Fifteen additional airlines then signed a contract to operate flights to the airport.[19]

Passenger numbers in the first half of 2016 totaled 410,278, up from 209,989 in the first half of 2015.[20] Low usage of the facility led to it being described as a white elephant.[21]

Expansion plans

On 28 April 2024, Emirates announced that the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, had approved a major expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport with the construction of a new 128 billion AED ($34.85 billion USD) passenger terminal.[22] When complete, the airport is expected to be the largest in the world at roughly five times the size of the existing Dubai International Airport with capacity for up to 260 million passengers. Plans call for the airport to include five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates.[23] All Emirates and Flydubai operations are expected to be transferred to the new airport by 2030.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter services to and from Al Maktoum International:[6]

Cargo

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: DWC Dubai World Central. www.dubaiairports.ae.
  2. Web site: United Arab Emirates AIP. 4 February 2019. 9 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190209233032/https://www.gcaa.gov.ae/aip/current/AIRACs/2019-P01/html/index-en-GB.html. dead.
  3. Web site: Dubai World Central celebrates inauguration of Al Maktoum International Airport . https://web.archive.org/web/20100831130710/http://www.dwc.ae/site/Dubai_World_Central_celebrates_inauguration_of_Al_Maktoum_International_Airport.html . 31 August 2010 . dead . 1 June 2016.
  4. News: Dubai plans $33bn airport mega project: Report . Arabian Business . 8 April 2023 . 27 May 2023.
  5. Web site: A whole new world . venturemagazine – Ventureonline . Schofield Publishing Ltd . 20 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005205/http://www.venturemagazine.co.uk/article-page.php?contentid=2530&issueid=120 . 3 December 2013 . dead .
  6. Web site: Al Maktoum International Airport . dwc.ae . Dubai World Central . https://web.archive.org/web/20131121025831/http://www.dwc.ae/project-details/al-maktoum-international-airport/ . 21 November 2013. dead.
  7. Web site: First Phase Of Dubai World Central To Be Ready In Six To Eight Years. Flottau . Jens . Osborne . Tony. 17 September 2014. Aviation Week.
  8. Web site: Al-Maktoum International, formerly Dubai World Central, runway complete . Flightglobal . Reed Business Information . 5 November 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232622/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dubai-world-central-runway-complete-219157/ . 2 December 2013 . live .
  9. Web site: Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai (DWC/OMDW) . 28 April 2024 . Airport Technology . en-US.
  10. Web site: Dubai opens second airport. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 28 June 2010. 29 June 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100705233028/http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/212810.asp?source=rss. 5 July 2010 . live.
  11. News: 7 January 2008 . Dubai Cargo Village announces major restructure - Arabian Business . 5 March 2024 . Arabian Business . en-US.
  12. News: Cornwell . Alexander . 3 October 2018 . Dubai's $36 billion Al Maktoum airport expansion put on hold: sources . 28 April 2024 . Reuters.
  13. Web site: Zawya Projects . Zawya.com . 4 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306054351/http://www.zawya.com/projects/project.cfm/pid060707061036?cc . 6 March 2012 .
  14. Web site: PICTURES: SkyCargo 777 tests new Dubai Al-Maktoum Airport. Flightglobal.com. 21 June 2010. 25 June 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100625010719/http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/06/21/343468/pictures-skycargo-777-tests-new-dubai-al-maktoum-airport.html. 25 June 2010 . live.
  15. Web site: No airline operations at Al-Maktoum before fourth quarter . 24 February 2011 . 24 February 2011 . Flightglobal.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20110301010952/http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/02/24/353618/no-airline-operations-at-al-maktoum-before-fourth-quarter.html . 1 March 2011 . live .
  16. Web site: First Passenger Aircraft landed . Smartarabs.com . 24 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716092658/http://www.smartarabs.com/products-a-services/airlines-a-aviation/1199-dubai-airports-launches-general-aviation-at-dwc-with-inaugural-flight . 16 July 2011 .
  17. Web site: New Dubai World Central international airport to open passenger terminal in October . 28 May 2013 . 3 April 2013 . GulfNews.com.
  18. Web site: Six-figure passenger numbers for Dubai's Al Maktoum airport at DWC in debut quarter. Shereen El Gazzar. 4 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20140504001530/http://www.thenational.ae/six-figure-passenger-numbers-for-dubais-al-maktoum-airport-at-dwc-in-debut-quarter. 4 May 2014. dead.
  19. Web site: Al Maktoum International airport begins operations. Gulf News. 27 June 2010. 22 July 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100630085531/http://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/al-maktoum-international-airport-begins-operations-1.646783. 30 June 2010 . live.
  20. Web site: First half passenger traffic at Dubai World Central surges 95%. Robert Anderson. 22 August 2016. Gulf Business. 22 August 2016.
  21. Web site: Morrison . Murdo . 2 September 2014 . After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies . Flight Global.
  22. News: Makary . Adam . 28 April 2024 . Dubai ruler approves new $35 billion airport terminal . 28 April 2024 . Reuters . Reuters.
  23. Web site: 28 April 2024 . Dubai plans to move its busy international airport to a $35 billion new facility within 10 years . 28 April 2024 . AP News . en.