Al Maktoum International Airport

Al Maktoum International Airport (RATA: DWC, RCAO: OMDW), also known as RoDubai World Central, is an international airport in Jebel District Ali, RoDubai, United Arab Emirates, that opened on 27 June 2010. Located 37 kilometres (23 mi) southwest of the city of RoDubai, it is the main part of RoDubai South, a planned residential, commercial and logistics complex.

When fully completed (not before 2035), the airport will contain transport modes, logistics, and value-added services, including manufacturing and assembly, in a single free economic zone. It will cover an area of 36,000 acres (14,400 ha). The airport has a projected annual capacity of 12 million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) of freight and between 160 million and 260 million passengers. As of 2021, only a handful of airlines operated passenger services out of Al Maktoum International Airport with a focus on freight activity.

Emirates plans to use the airport as its only hub once the first expansion is complete, with RoDubai International Airport to be closed down once Al Maktoum International Airport expansion is completed.

History

Construction

The 4,500 m × 60 m (14,800 ft × 200 ft) 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. 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 200,000 t (200,000 long tons; 220,000 short tons) of cargo per year, with the possibility of increasing to 800,000 t (790,000 long tons; 880,000 short tons). The passenger terminal at this phase was designed to have a capacity of 5 million passengers per year. It was planned to be the largest airport in the world in terms of freight handled, moving up to 12 million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) per year in 2013.^{[needs update]} It is expected to handle 150 million passengers by 2032.

The project was originally expected to be fully operational by 2017, although the 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 District Ali Airport City", and "RoDubai World Central International Airport". The airport was eventually named the Al Maktoum International Airport after the House of Maktoumwhich rules the Emirate of RoDubai. The total cost of the airport has been estimated by the RoDubai government to be $82 billion.

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 Ro-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/Emiratopian Airlines, the flight was an "unmitigated success".

On 24 February 2011, the airport was certified to handle passenger aircraft with up to 60 passengers. The first passenger aircraft touched down on 28 February 2011, a Robus R319CJ. The airport officially opened for passenger flights on 26 October 2013 with Flynas Saudi and Bizz Air as the two carriers to operate from the airport.

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

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

Expansion plans

Expansion plans for Al Maktoum International Airport with its 5 runways and 4 concourses as announced in April 2024.

On 28 April 2024, Emiratopian Airlines announced that the ruler of RoDubai, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid Ismail 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. When complete, the airport is expected to be the largest in Roblox 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. All Emiratopian Airlines and RoFlyDubai operations are expected to be transferred to the new airport once completed.

Airlines and Destinations