Dubai International Airport

Dubai International Airport’s new $4.5 billion Terminal 3 open on Oct. 14.

Terminal 3 will be opened in four phases ending in December, when 265 daily flights will be operational to and from the terminal.

The terminal is for the sole use of Dubai-owned airline Emirates.

The first phase from Oct. 14 includes 40 flights arriving and departing to destinations in the Gulf - including Doha, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jeddah, Damman and Riyadh - and in the Americas, namely New York, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Toronto.

The second phase will open flights to the Middle East and Africa, with Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Far East and Australia serviced in later phases.

Annual passenger numbers at the airport are expected to grow to around 40 million by the end of the year. The airport will be able to handle up to 60 million passengers per year by 2010.

Baby strollers are provided for the use of families.

A modern duty free area offers additional shopping facilities.

Futuristic ’sky trains’ (oversized lifts that fit up to 120 people at any one time) move passengers from underground to the light-flooded concourse and its acres of duty-free.

Reception and check-in areas have bean bags for relaxing before a flight.



The ultra-modern design is more like a contemporary hotel than an airport.

An on-site hotel has a spa. But will transit passengers have the time or inclination to try it out?

Following the A380 trend of in-flight showers, Terminal 3 offers between flight jacuzzis.

Polished staircases and gleaming windows will soon be a blur of activity as the airport moves towards a goal of safely and efficiently transporting millions of passengers.

When Time out visited the airport it was the quietest it will ever be. Keep clicking to see more of the spa, passenger check-in and on-site hotel.

The red carpet has been put down for the first batch of passengers to come through the brand new Emirates only terminal.

Designers have attempted to strike a balance between form and function with modern furniture design and colorings.

The airport’s different lounges provide varying degrees of luxury and innovation.

The on-site hotel may not be the place for long holidays but for a short sleep between flights it is going to be an essential stopping point for business passengers.

Bushes and plants will brighten up the airport, but can they really offset the carbon footprint caused by such a major development?

So fit you need to workout before a flight? Terminal 3’s hotel gym will fight the threat of DVT.

Will you be taking an Emirates flight out of Dubai soon?