Dubai ruler approves $35bn for new airport terminal

CAIRO: Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum approved a new passenger terminal in Al Maktoum International airport worth 128 billion AED ($34.85 billion), he said on Sunday in a post on X.

The Al Maktoum International Airport will be the largest in the world with a capacity of up to 260 million passengers, and five times the size of Dubai International Airport, he added, saying that all operations at Dubai airport would be transferred to Al Maktoum in the coming years.

The Al Maktoum airport will also include 400 terminal gates and five runways, he said. The airport will be the new home of flagship carrier Emirates and its sister low-cost airline Flydubai along with all airline partners connecting the world to and from Dubai, Dubai state-owned airline Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said.

The move “further solidifies Dubai’s position as a leading aviation hub on the world stage,” the CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, was quoted as saying by the Dubai Media Office.