In Pictures: Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport to be world's largest

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has approved designs for the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport set to be built a cost of Dh128 billion.

Sheikh Mohammed reviewed the master plan for the Airport of the Future, which, upon full development, will emerge as the world’s largest airport, covering an expansive area of 70 square kilometres.

During the event, Sheikh Mohammed was briefed on the key design features and strategic implementation plan for the airport.

The new terminal will ultimately enable Al Maktoum airport to scale up passenger capacity to 260 million annually and fully absorb Dubai International Airport’s operations in 10 years.

Once fully operational, Al Maktoum airport will span 70 square km, with 5 parallel runways and 5 passenger terminals housing more than 400 aircraft gates.

It is expected that the first phase of the project will be ready within a period of 10 years, with a capacity to accommodate 150 million passengers annually.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed emphasised, “The new airport, which will ultimately be over five times the size of Dubai International, will prepare the ground for the next 40 years of anticipated growth in Dubai’s aviation sector.

It will respond to the Hub Airline ambitious plans in terms of fleet acquisition and passenger growth

The airport will provide cutting-edge technologies, passenger facilities with unmatched level of service, and state-of-the-art aviation support facilities.