UAE. Following the opening of the final phase of Concourse A at Dubai International (DXB) Terminal 3, the airport – the world’s busiest for international traffic – is 100% operational with all terminals, concourses, lounges, restaurants, and retail outlets now open.
Terminal 3 is expected to serve more than 1.6 million passengers in the second half of December during the month’s peak seasonal travel period. The opening of all facilities represents a huge boost to Dubai Airports and commercial service partners, led by Dubai Duty Free.
Visitors to Dubai exceeded 1 million during October and DXB reached the important milestone of 1 million passengers per week in November, with origin-destination passengers reaching 94% of pre-pandemic levels.
“Reaching the point where 100% of our facilities are now open and serving customers, plus the huge resurgence in passengers arriving into Dubai marks an important milestone for the aviation sector as well as for the city of Dubai and its economic growth,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
“We took early steps to implement best-in-class hygiene and health protocols, fast track PCR testing facilities, and enhanced customer service and guest support resources to ensure the comfort, convenience and safety of travellers – and this has resulted in a strong recovery towards pre-pandemic levels of passengers.”
He added: “This has been an enormous team effort and our employees and stakeholders have responded magnificently to the significant challenge of getting DXB back up and running at 100% capacity.”
The journey back to full operations following closure in March 2020 began with the reopening of Terminals 2 and 3 and Concourses B and C for inbound passenger operations from 22 June 2020, following the easing of international travel regulations for residents by UAE authorities. Outbound travel for UAE citizens and residents opened on 23 June while Dubai welcomed the first international tourists from 7 July 2020. Dubai Airports reopened Terminal 1 and Concourse D, home to over 60 international airlines, on 24 June 2021.
Over past 18 months, there has been a steady increase in passenger traffic which has intensified in recent months, noted Dubai Airports in a statement. Traffic reached 10.6 million passengers in the first half of 2021, followed by robust growth in Q3 and a surge in October 2021 which took the year-to-date passenger numbers to 20.7 million. With the busy holiday season to the end of the year showing further growth, passenger numbers are expected to reach 28.9 million by the end of 2021, 2.1 million more than the September 2021 forecast.
Griffiths added: “The rate of recovery of DXB has exceeded most other airports of comparable size and highlights the positive international reputation that Dubai has as an attractive city that has taken decisive steps to protect its visitors and residents. The number of visitors to Dubai is likely to exceed pre-pandemic levels during the final few weeks of the year which is an excellent milestone on our journey towards full recovery.”
