Dubai International Airport to Shut Permanently — All Flights Shift to New $35B Al Maktoum Hub

Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is the world's busiest passenger hubs, is set to close permanently in 2035, The Mirror UK reported. All commercial flight operations will transfer to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), a new mega-facility being built in the Jebel Ali district south of Dubai. The project carries a price tag of approximately $35 billion.

The $35 billion figure for the terminal project was cited by Al Jazeera following the April 2024 announcement. Some UK-based outlets placed the total transformation budget at approximately £25.8 billion (roughly Dhs128 billion), and others cited £28 billion, equivalent to around $34.8 billion.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, confirmed construction of a new terminal at Dubai World Central (DWC) in April 2024. It is set to become the world's largest airport facility upon completion.

The Dubai Media Office confirmed that Al Maktoum International Airport will have a maximum annual passenger capacity of 260 million, a figure that dwarfs the throughput of any airport currently in operation, including the current Dubai International Airport. For context, DXB handled roughly 92 million passengers in 2023 and 95.2 million in 2025, and even that volume is pushing against its structural limits.

Why DWC Replaces DXB?

The transition from Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum is expected to begin in 2032, when DXB hits its operational maximum of 114 million passengers annually. Timeout Dubai reported that while a transition may begin around 2032, the full completion of the Al Maktoum project is not expected until 2057. That means travelers could be dealing with a partially operational new airport for decades after Dubai International Airport goes dark, with construction ongoing around them.

'The current thinking is that when DXB gets to a point where we've got enough capacity created at DWC (Al Maktoum International Airport) to make the complete transition, that we will move every single service from DXB to DWC, there's little sense in operating two major airport hubs in such close proximity, within 70 kilometers of each other,' Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths was quoted as saying by Time Out.

Dubai International Airport is central to more than 40 airlines, which are currently operating through DXB. Emirates, Fly Dubai, Air India, PIA, Saudia are a few airlines that frequently connect through DXB.

As for what sets the Al Maktoum International Airport world apart is that it will have five parallel runaways and up to 400 aircraft gates. Besides 260 million passengers, the new airport will be equipped to handle 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. Overall, DWC will be five times the size of DXB, set to cover 27 square miles when completed.