Dubai: Passengers travelling through Al Maktoum International will have to make do with available taxi and bus services or drive and leave their cars at the airport — at least until transportation demands increase.
Unlike Dubai International, the new airport — located on the other side of the emirate — is not serviced by a Metro station. Instead, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) provides just the one bus route. Passengers will be able to take the F55 from Ibn Battuta Metro station to Al Maktoum International every hour between 6am and 10pm. At night, the route becomes the F55A and is extended until Satwa bus station.
Both hard and light rail are expected to one day be integrated into Dubai World Central, connecting passengers to Al Maktoum International from not just Dubai but Abu Dhabi as well.
Speaking on Sunday at the opening of the new airport, Jazeera Airways chairman Marwan Boodai said he was “hoping for the rail link sooner rather than later.”
The extension of the Metro Red Line to Dubai World Central is expected to be fast tracked if Dubai is successful in its bid to host Expo 2020, following comments from Mattar Al Tayer, RTA chairman, earlier this year.
Infrastructure developments
Ernest S. Arvai, president of consultancy The Arvai Group, said in an e-mail that current transportation offerings could be an issue early on for the airport before infrastructure developments increase.
“While there could be some initial difficulties, it will not take long for the infrastructure and transportation networks to catch up and shift from the old airport to the new one. If there are issues, they will be only temporary in nature, as with the shake-out of any new facility,” he said.
Wizz Air, which flies to four destinations in Central and Eastern Europe from Al Maktoum International, offer transportation services for passengers travelling one-way to Dubai City for €30 (Dh152) and to Abu Dhabi for €52 (Dh264).
“Similar to some offers existing at some of Wizz Air’s most popular destinations, Wizz Air is offering a convenient door-to-door service for passengers using Dubai World Central airport,” a Wizz Air spokesperson said in an e-mail.
The RTA is also reportedly currently looking at whether it will be feasible to provide transport services between the two airports separated by 67 kilometres.
Wizz Air have said they are happy with the current transport connections to the airport but added that in the long term, they could offer the same shuttle services that are popular in Europe in transporting passengers from airports to the heart of the city.
