Dubai is one of the globe’s hottest tourist destinations and home to some of the busiest airports in the world. But according to the latest reports, the City in the Desert is well on its way to becoming No. 1.
According to Arabian Business, Dubai is expected to become “the biggest aviation hub in the world” eventually taking over Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and China’s Beijing Capital International Airport. According to USA Today, Dubai International became ‘the number one airport for international passenger numbers’ beating out London Heathrow.
Arabian Business quoted Chairman of Dubai Airports, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum saying, “This historic milestone is the culmination of over five decades of double-digit average growth that were inspired by the vision of the late Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.” The full year total for passengers at Dubai International is a staggering 70,475,636 from 66,431,533 in 2013.
Even though Dubai Airports have reached an important milestone, they still lie in seventh place when you look at total traffic numbers. Atlanta and Beijing still take the first two spots respectively.
But this is not a concern for Paul Griffiths, CEO Dubai Airports. While speaking to CNN Money Griffiths was quoted saying, “I think we’ll get there and I think we’ll probably get there by about 2020. The actual numbers for Hartfield I think are about 93 million, Beijing has a capacity of 104 [million]. We will be hard pressed on this site but once DWC gets into its stride I am absolutely convinced by the mid-2020s Dubai will be the hub for aviation globally whether for international or domestic traffic.”
In September 2014 a budget of $32 billion was announced for expansion of DWC’s Al Maktoum International Airport that would make it the largest in the world. It would be able to accommodate over 200 million passengers annually upon completion of the expansion.
The way Dubai is progressing, there seems to remain little doubt.