Dubai: Dubai International’s Terminal 1 and Concourse D welcomed their first passengers on Thursday morning with the arrival of a flynas flight from Riyadh.
The facilities were closed on March 25, 2020 following the partial suspension of operations at DXB as part of the measures to control the spread of COVID-19.
Linked to Terminal 1 by an airport train, the $1.2 billion Concourse D, opened in February 2016 as the home terminal of DXB's 65 plus international carriers.
The reopening of the facility will see the phased return of these carriers over the next few days from Terminals 2 and 3, as the hub prepares for an anticipated increase in traffic during the summer holidays and beyond.
This move signals our confidence that the outlook for the rest of the year and beyond is one of optimism, as well as being a clear indication of Dubai's intent to lead the aviation industry in its efforts to enable social and economic recovery of the world," said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports, in a statement earlier.
"Dubai's aviation sector has been at the forefront of a global campaign to restore vital international air services with the opening of quarantine-free travel corridors between the UAE and multiple countries around the world," said Sheikh Ahmed.
DXB now also hosts the world's largest in-house airport labs for processing of COVID-19 RT PCR tests. Located close to Terminal 2, the 20,000 square-foot lab is a dedicated facility for round-the-clock processing of RT-PCR test samples collected from passengers.
It can process up to 100,000 samples per day and provide reliable results within a few hours
