One of the most ambitious projects in the aviation world is starting in Dubai - the construction of a new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum Airport. Its capacity will be 260 million passengers per year, which will make it the largest in the world by this indicator. The cost of the project is estimated at 128 billion dirhams (US$ 34.8 billion). The new terminal will be five times larger than the current Dubai International Airport, which today ranks first in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. In 10 years, the new terminal will "absorb" all flights from Dubai International Airport. The new airport with an area of 70 square kilometers will have 400 boarding gates, five parallel runways and new aviation technologies. Its capacity will allow handling 12 million tons of cargo per year. It is expected that the first stage of the project will be ready within 10 years and will be able to receive 150 million passengers annually. The new terminal will be connected to the city by a metro line, bus routes, as well as urban air transport. An entire city with a million inhabitants will be built around the airport in the south of Dubai. It will house the world's leading companies in the logistics and air transport sectors. The new airport will become an urban and global hub for future generations. Dubai International Airport (DXB), which handled 86.9 million passengers last year (an increase of 31.7% per year), retains the status of the busiest international air hub for the 10th year in a row. In 2023, it handled 416,405 flights, which is the highest figure in its history. This year, the airport expects to receive 88.8 million passengers, which is close to the previous record of 89.1 million in 2018. In 2025, the airport expects to reach 93.8 million passengers, and after that – to overcome the mark of 100 million.
