Dubai is stepping up its tourism game by debuting an enormous new international airport on October 27. The first phase of construction is complete, and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority has certified Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport for passenger operations. The new terminal is expected to accommodate seven million travelers a year.
But there’s more to come. “When completed,” reports the Khaleej Times, “DWC will be the largest airport in the world with five runways and capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo.” Currently Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport takes the prize for world’s busiest, with 89 million passengers a year. The first airlines to inaugurate Al Maktoum International Airport will be Saudi Arabia’s Nas Air and Hungary’s Wizz Air, followed by Emirates.
Notably, Dubai’s original airport is undergoing a big expansion to increase capacity to 100 million in 2020. Both these facilities are testament to the fact that the emirate is morphing into a hub for long-haul flights between Asia and the Americas.
Image via Dubai World Central