Dubai International Airport is near the end of a development project that includes the construction of a new terminal designed to address the airport's surging passenger demand. As its hub carrier and other airlines debut new international long-haul routes and increase frequencies to the United Arab Emirates' business center, the new terminal will have the capability to serve the planned Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft.
Airport officials expect the construction of Terminal 3, part of a $4.1 billion development project, to be complete in early 2007. Included are two concourses dedicated to hub airline Emirates and longer, wider runways to accommodate the carrier's planned introduction of 43 A380s, which last week was pushed back to 2008 due to Airbus production delays.
The new terminal, airports officials said, will boost Dubai International's capacity to 70 million passengers—far higher than current passenger traffic. However, passenger demand is very rapidly growing: The 24.8 million passengers the airport hosted in 2005 is 14 percent higher than 2004 figures, and twice its traffic level in 2000. Officials expect more than 28 million people will pass through in 2006.
"Over the years, the Department of Civil Aviation has continuously stressed maintaining a very high standard for all the services and facilities provided and this has paid off," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation, which oversees the airport, and chairman of Emirates Group. "We have continuously attracted new airlines and can truly be regarded as a hub with 110 airlines and more than 160 destinations."
Half of those destinations are served by Emirates, which operates the only nonstop service from Dubai to the United States through twice-daily flights to New York-JFK. That service debuted in 2003
(BTN, Sept. 8, 2003), and was doubled in 2005, owing to what Emirates officials termed the route's "enormous popularity." Emirates also codeshares on Continental Airlines flights to Newark and Houston through London-Gatwick.
The London-Dubai route is the fastest-growing route in the world, according to aerospace consulting firm Ascend, with nearly 850,000 more seats available today than in 1996. "The huge increase of passenger activity between London and Dubai has mirrored Dubai's growth as a substantial regional power in the areas of tourism, construction, finance and trade over the past decade," said Ascend managing director Gehan Talwatte. "Free trade zones, a shift toward a more service-orientated economy, a state-of-the-art international airport and wide choice of luxury resorts are all making Dubai an increasingly attractive destination."
The route also is becoming increasingly competitive, as Virgin Atlantic Airways in March launched its first service between Heathrow and Dubai, joining Emirates and British Airways. The carrier operates daily Airbus A340 flights. "Dubai is the second-largest long-haul route out of London and we are confident that we can make big inroads into this market, targeting 10 percent marketshare in our first year of operation," said Virgin Atlantic chairman Richard Branson in March.
Also in March, Aer Lingus launched its first long-haul service to a destination outside the United States, from Dublin to Dubai. The Irish carrier operates three flights weekly to Dubai International.