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| Dubai International Airport مطار دبي الدولي | |||||||||||||||
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| File:Dubai logo.png | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Dubai | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Department of Civil Aviation | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 62 ft / 19 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°15′10″N 055°21′52″E / 25.25278°N 55.36444°E / 25.25278; 55.36444 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.dubaiairport.com | ||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2007) | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics from Dubai International Airport | |||||||||||||||
Dubai International Airport (IATA: DXB, ICAO: OMDB) (Template:Lang-ar) is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport in Dubai. In 2007, the airport handled over 29% of all flights entering and leaving the Middle East, and Africa Region.
The airport is operated by the Department of Civil Aviation and is the home base of Dubai's international airline, Emirates Airline and Emirates SkyCargo, as well as serving as a secondary hub for the Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways. Other smaller passenger and cargo airlines use the airport as a hub and these include Dolphin Air and Falcon Express Cargo Airlines. Airlines with secondary hubs at the airport include Royal Jordanian, British Gulf International Airlines, Iran Aseman Airlines, DAS Air Cargo, Air Blue, Iran Air and African Express Airways. It is a focus city for a number of airlines including; Singapore Airlines, Yemenia, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Air India, Pakistan International Airlines, and Jubba Airways. As of June 08, there are about 5,100 weekly flights operated by 140 airlines to over 260 destinations.
The airport operates flights from Dubai to North America, Europe, South America, East Asia, Southwest Asia, South Asia, Australasia, and Africa. Dubai International Airport will be complemented by Al Maktoum International Airport, a new 140 km² airport that will help handle the influx of travelers well into the future.
In 2007, the airport handled a record 34,340,000 passengers, a 18.3% increase over the 2006 fiscal year. This made it the 27rd busiest airport in the world and the 8th busiest airport in the world, in terms of international passenger traffic. In addition to being an important passenger traffic hub, the airport is one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, handling 1.668 million tonnes of cargo in 2007. The new S$4.5 billion Terminal 3 opened on 14th October 2008, and Terminal 2 will be upgraded. Concourse 3 is also part of Terminal 3, and is expected to be completed by 2011. Terminal 3 is a massive new addition the the airport, and will add 1.5 million square meters. With the new Terminal 3 (including Concourse 1 and 2), the airport will be able to handle 60 million passengers annually, a target which the airport expects to reach within three years.
Since 1998, the airport has won over 300 awards and accolades.
History
| Operational Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Year | Passenger movements |
Airfreight movements (tonnes) |
Aircraft movements |
| 1998 | 9,732,202 | 431,777 | 123,352 |
| 1999 | 10,754,824 | 474,779 | 132,708 |
| 2000 | 12,320,660 | 562,591 | 141,281 |
| 2001 | 13,508,073 | 610,867 | 134,165 |
| 2002 | 15,973,391 | 764,193 | 148,334 |
| 2003 | 18,062,344 | 928,758 | 168,511 |
| 2004 | 21,711,883 | 1,111,647 | 195,820 |
| 2005 | 24,782,288 | 1,333,014 | 217,165 |
| 2006 | 28,788,726 | 1,410,963 | 237,258 |
| 2007 | 34,340,000 | n/a | 260,530 |
As early as in the 1940s flying from Dubai was possible via flying boats operated by BOAC, operating the Horseshoe line from South-Africa via the Persian Gulf to Sydney. Construction of the airport was originally ordered by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1959, who was the ruler of Dubai at that time. It officially opened in 1960, at which time it was able to manage aircraft the size of a Douglas DC-3 on a 1800 m. long runway made of compacted sand. Three turning-areas, an apron and small terminal completed the airport that was constructed by Costain. In May 1963 construction of a 9.200 ft (2804 m.) asphalt runway started. This new runway, alongside the original sand runway and taxi-strip opened in May 1965, together with several new buildings and extension of the terminal. The installation of the lighting system continued after official opening and was completed in August of that year. During the second half of the 1960s several extensions, equipment-upgrades like VOR and ILS as well as new buildings were realized.
Expansion continued in the early 1970s including ILS Class II equipment, lengthening existing runway to 12.500 ft, installation of NDB, diesel generators, taxi-ways etc. All this work made reception of Boeing 747 and Concorde possible. Several extensions of runways and apron were carried out through the decade to meet growing demand.
In April 1984 a second runway was opened and several extensions and upgrades of terminal facilities and supporting systems were carried out. On 23 December 1980 the airport became ordinary member of the ACI
Expansion
The airport is currently undergoing major expansion. With the construction of Terminal 3 and Concourse 2, much of the airport's major expansion has finished.
Construction of Terminal 3, began in 2004, with an estimated cost of around S$4.55 billion. Originally planned for completion in 2006, the date was delayed by two years.
On 30 May 2008, a topping out ceremony for the terminal was conducted, and an open house was held from 12 August 2008 to 9 October . The terminal became operational on 14 October 2008 with Emirates Airlines (EK2926) from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia being the first flight to arrive at the new terminal at 3.55pm, and EK843 at 2.15pm local time being the first departing flight. The terminal increases the airport's maximum passenger capacity annually by 23 million, bringing the total annual capacity up to 60 million passengers.
With the arrival of the Airbus A380, the airport put into place modifications works costing S$230 million. These included the building of 29 gates capable of handling the large aircraft, five of which are in Terminal 3. Other important projects at the airport include the next phase of construction, which will be the construction of Concourse 3. This will be a smaller version of Concourse 2, which is connected to Terminal 3. This is expected to be completed within three years, with plans to open by early 2011. Construction has already begun.
The Cargo Mega Terminal, which will have the capacity to handle 3 million tonnes of cargo a year, is a major development; it is going to be built in the long term. Completion for the Mega terminal is expected to be no later than 2012.
Also Terminal 2 will be completely redeveloped to match the status of the other two terminals. With all of these projects completed by 2012, the airport expects to handle over 75 million passengers and over 3 million tonnes of cargo.
The airport will also undergo an expansion to allow two stations of the Red Line of the Dubai Metro to be built within the complex. One station will be constructed in Terminal 1 and the other in Terminal 3. The Metro system is not expected to be fully operational until 2009.
Dubai's government has announced the construction of a new airport in Jebel Ali termed Al Maktoum International Airport. It is expected upon completion to be the fourth largest airport in the world by physical size, though not by passenger metrics. Construction is expected to finish by the year 2017. On completion, Dubai International Airport is expected to be able to accommodate up to 75 million passengers. There has been an official plan to build the Dubai Metro purple line to connect Al Maktoum International Airport to Dubai International Airport; construction is set to begin in 2012.
| Airlines | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger Movements | 9.732 million | 15.973 million | 28.788 million(2006) |
| Airfreight Movements | 431,777 tonnes | 764,193 tonnes | 1.410 million tonnes
(2006) |
| City Links | 110 | 170 | >215 (Jun 2006) |
| Weekly Scheduled Flights | About 2,300 | About 2,850 | >4,550 (Jun 2006) |
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Accidents and Incidents
Accidents en route to Dubai
- On 3 July, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655, which was on a Tehran-Bandar Abbas-Dubai route, was shot down by USS Vincennes between Bandar Abbas and Dubai. 290 people were killed in this incident.
- On 17 February 2007, a Novair A330-200 made an emergency landing in an airport in the United Arab Emirates. The plane was flying from Phuket, Thailand to Copenhagen, Denmark with mainly Danish passengers. After takeoff from a scheduled intermediate landing in Dubai, the captain felt some strange vibrations in one of the engines and decided to shut it down. The landing went smoothly and no one was injured.
- 12 March 2007: Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight BG006 (LHR-DXB-DAC), carrying 236 passengers and crew, the nose gear of the Airbus A310-300 collapsed while accelerating down the runway. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries in the accident at Dubai International Airport. The aircraft came to rest at the end of the runway and was evacuated, but crippled the only active runway and forced the airport to close for eight hours, affecting 71 flights.
- Hijackings: 2 with a total of 1 fatality.
Accidents en route to Dubai
- On 28 July 2001, a man named Djamel Beghal was arrested at Dubai International Airport while transferring from a flight from Pakistan to a flight to Europe. Beghal admitted to being part of the Paris embassy attack plot to UAE interrogators. The Al-Qaeda suspect was taken to France, where he recanted parts of his statement. The plot was dismantled by French, Belgian, and Dutch authorities.
- Part of the airport's Terminal 3 collapsed on September 28, 2004 during the construction phase.
Infrastructure
Passenger terminals
Terminal 1
The 1km long Sheikh Rashid Terminal (Terminal 1) has an overall capacity of 40 million
Passengers. It is used by 113 airlines. It is connected to Concourse 2 by an underground 300 meter tunnel. Terminal 1 offers 221 check in counters, with a separate section for first and business class passengers. In arrivals there are 40 passport control desks and 14 baggage claims belts.
Concourse 1
Concourse part of Terminal 1 is currently used by all International airlines. It used to be the main part of Dubai Airport before Terminal 3 opened. It opened in 2000. It incorporates over 60 gates, and 50 air bridges. Current facilities include Restaurants, lounges, a 5 star hotel, a business centre, a health club, a 5,400 square meter Duty Free. Other facilities include prayer rooms, and a medical center.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 is the oldest Terminal at Dubai Airport and has a capacity of 3 million. It is mainly used by airlines operating in the region. Most flights operate to Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Terminal is also being expanded as in recent years has become extremely congested and over crowded. The terminal offers 22 check in counters, and 1,440 square meters of duty free.
Expansion work has begun, and is expected be completed by 2010.
Terminal 3
Terminal 3 is the single largest Terminal building in the world, with over 1,500,000m² of space. The Terminal has an annual capacity of 43 million passengers. It is located beneath the taxiway area at Dubai airport and is directly connected to concourse 2. Terminal 3 differs from Terminal 1 as there are fewer walking distances. This is the main difference between the terminal 1, which is linked to the concourse (Sheikh Rashid Terminal) with a tunnel, and terminal 3. The shape of the terminal 3 is in the shape of an airplane wing and is 1km long.
Terminal 3 includes a multi level underground structure, first and bussiness class lounges, restaurants, 180 check-in counters and 2,600 underground parking spaces. The terminal will add 15,000m² of retail space to the airport doubling the amount of retail space at Dubai Airport.
The departures and arrivals halls in the new terminal are located 10 metres underground the airports taxi ways.
The terminal incorporates two levels of parking for vehicles. This Terminal was fully opened on October 14 2008.
Concourse 2
Concourse 2 is directly connected to terminal 3, and is a 950m long concourse that is dedicated exclusively to Emirates. The building currently includes a multi level structure for departures and arrivals at Dubai Airport and includes 27 contact gates and 59 passenger loading bridges. Also there is a direct connection to Sheikh Rashid Terminal located at the control tower structure through passenger walkways. There is also a 300-room hotel and health club that will include both five and four star rooms. And a further 10,000m² of commercial space will be added to the current Dubai Airport. Concourse 2 includes five aerobridges that are capable of handling the new Airbus A380. The Terminal itself contains 52 immigration counters, 14 baggae carousels, and 12 e-gates.
The concourse has the capacity to handle 23 million passengers and on a normal day, has a capacity of 17,000 people an hour.
Concourse 3
Concourse 3 will be a smaller version of concourse 2, and is planned to have tempreture-controlled lounges. It will have 27 contact gates, of which 12 will be exclusively for the Airbus A380. The two concourses will be connected with electric buses. Concourse 3 will also be connected to the public levels of Termnal 3 with an automated people mover and also a service tunnel for further baggage transfer. Construction had begun on Consourse 3 in early 2008, and is expected to be fully completed by 2011.
Operations
Airlines and destinations_DXB_23-9-2007_8.jpg)  Destinations by Region
Destinations by AirlinesTerminal 1Concourse 1
Terminal 2
Terminal 3Concourse 2.jpg) Emirates operations from Terminal 3 will be phased and commenced on 14 October 2008. During the first phase of the phase-in, all Emirates flights to and from the Americas and GCC countries depart and arrive at Terminal 3. In the second phase, all Emirates flights to and from the Middle East and Africa will be added to the T3 slate of destinations. During the third phase, Emirates flights to and from Europe will arrive and depart at Terminal 3, with all other Emirates flights (South Asia, East Asia and Australia) will be added during the fourth phase, all four phases are expected to be completed by November 2008.
Cargo airlines
Incidents
GallerySee also
References
External links
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