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Concourse D: Adding much needed capacity at Dubai International |
UAE. The countdown has begun to the opening of Dubai International’s AED1.9 billion Concourse D, as Dubai Airports prepares to trial the new facility’s operational readiness.
Dubai Airports has invited members of the public to volunteer as “˜passengers’ and help test the concourse on 6 February. This advanced trial follows others that were conducted over the past few months to test different aspects of the facility, which will serve more than 70 airlines when it opens (likely to be in March).
The concourse will feature 21 contact stands, of which four will be able to accommodate Airbus A380 or Boeing 747 aircraft, and 11 remote stands.
Dubai Airports said: “The emphasis in Concourse D is to create a more efficient and intuitive customer experience with short walks to connect passengers with their aircraft. The facility will feature open gates allowing travellers to board directly from the waiting area, giving them more freedom and time to enjoy the full complement of food & beverage outlets.” The F&B offer will include a casual dining concept from celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, the first Pret a Manger in a Middle East airport as well as the region’s first Camden Food Company outlet, plus CNN News Café and others.
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The Dubai Duty Free stores will be at the heart of the retail offer |
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The retail area, led by a strong Dubai Duty Free offer, will be spread over 8400sq m. Concourse D will feature a total of nine lounges spread over 6,926sq m, including five airline lounges, a new Al Majlis lounge, two Dubai International Hotel lounges and a Marhaba VIP lounge.
The new concourse will also offer comfortable seating as well as SnoozeCubes to allow passengers to rest between flights.
The forthcoming trial is designed to test systems and processes across the facility, as well as staff preparedness by simulating typical airport operating scenarios. As part of the trial some 2,500 volunteers will play the role of passengers travelling to different destinations, arriving, departing, and transiting through the facility in order to test access, traffic flow, way-finding signage, and other scenarios specific to the airport’s partners, such as police, immigration and customs, as well as retail and food & beverage concessionaires.
“As the final element of the US$7.8 billion Strategic Plan 2020 that we had announced in 2011, Concourse D is a crucial and timely addition to Dubai International as it will increase the airport’s capacity to 90 million passengers,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
“Our approach with launching new facilities has always been to test, test and test again until we are confident our passengers and airlines will receive the highest service levels upon opening. Residents of Dubai and the UAE have an opportunity to help us achieve this goal while being part of Dubai’s aviation history. If our past experiences with operational trials are anything to go by, we expect an overwhelming response from the members of the public,” Griffiths added.
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