Chapter 3: Dubai International Airport
Overwhelming
03.09.2022 - 03.09.2022 106 °F
Chapter Three: Dubai International Airport
September 3, 2022
DXB, the Dubai International Airport, is the world’s 19th busiest but is number one in terms of international passenger traffic. It holds the title of handling more Airbus A-380 and Boeing 777 aircraft movements than any other airport in the world, so, it is also the airport with the highest average number of passengers per flight. Pre-pandemic passenger traffic peaked here in 2017 when over 88 million customers arrived and departed. It is busy 24 hours a day. I know my way around the place having been here many times but for the uninitiated, it could be overwhelming.
No U.S. airline flag carrier flies here. Emirates, however, flies non-stop to 12 US airports: New York JFK, Newark, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Fort Lauderdale (seasonally), Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Frankly, I wager that American, United and Delta simply could not compete in any of those U.S. markets in terms of service or connectivity to the rest of the world. Government owned Emirates Airlines holds a 51 share of passenger traffic here.
In the Al Garhoud district of Dubai, at 18,440,000 square feet, DXB Terminal 3 ranks as the second-largest building in the world and is partially powered by a mammoth solar energy system. Non-stop flights leave here daily to 270 destinations all over the world. Despite the Ukranian War global boycott, flights to Russia still take off regularly—as they do from the countries of Serbia, Belavia (Belarus), Sri Lanka and U.S. “strong allies” Turkey and Israel. Several Asian countries also have continued to fly to Russia.
Four hundred thousand people work here—21% of the employment in all of Dubai. The vast majority are foreigners rather than Emirati.
Construction commenced under the rule of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1959 and DXB opened a year later with the arrival of a 30-passenger Douglas DC-3 which landed on a runway of compacted sand. At that time, with USSR airspace restricted, Dubai’s location made it an ideal spot for international carriers to refuel the aircraft on many popular global routes. A masterplan created in 1997 called for a vast expansion of the government owned facility to serve as a base for what would become a massive government owned international airline: Emirates.
To accommodate the Emirates fleet of A380 double-decker wide-body aircraft, $230 million was spent adding 28 new two-level gates. Two metro lines connect the airport’s three terminals to the city. A second airport, Dubai World Central—Al Maktoum International Airport, expected to become the second largest airport in the world by physical size when completed, opened in 2010.
If you fly here aboard an Emirates wide body aircraft you will arrive at the amazing Terminal 3, a nearly $5 billion dollar behemoth with a capacity of 65 million passengers a year. There are 180 check-in counters and the largest baggage handling system in the world. Sporting a transit hotel along with 18 large cafes and restaurants, it also boasts the largest—and from my experience best—first class lounge anywhere which can hold up to 1,800 first class passengers at a time. The retail space is overwhelming sporting retailers ranging from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Chanel and Hermès to H&M, adidas, Mac, Estee Lauder and my favorite, Shake Shack. But upon arrival, you will see none of that. When you leave, the shopping assault is irresistible.
For a mind-blowing experience, go to YouTube and search for “Ultimate Airport Dubai.” There is enough video content there to keep you busy for weeks.
When we arrive, we are met by a representative from Marhaba Services because I booked a “Family” greeting package, recommended for senior citizens or families. What do we get for $108.61? Full escort from our arrival gate with a “buggy” ride rather than a walk, escorted access to the fast-track immigration counter and someone to tote our carry-on bags all the way through that process. From my vast experience with international airports, that’s a bargain. The Marhaba escort delivers us to our chauffeur whose Emirates limo whisks us to our hotel, the TAJ Jumeriah Towers. More about the hotel will be forthcoming after we have had a day or so to settle in.
