Dubai Airports today confirmed that it will invest $1.2bn (AED 4.3bn) in new and upgraded facilities for over 110 international airlines that operate from Dubai International’s Terminals 1 and 2, which will deliver a significantly enhanced customer experience when construction and testing is completed.

Concourse D, when it opens later this year, will become the new $517m (AED 1.9bn) home to nearly 100 airlines that currently occupy Concourse C.

“The facility will feature open gates, which will allow travellers to board directly from the waiting area, giving them more freedom and time to enjoy the full complement of exciting food and beverage outlets,” says Dubai Airports.

“Construction is on track for completion mid-year, paving the way for the full launch of a rigorous trial and testing programme to ensure that every system and process is ready prior to opening.”

A total of $490m (AED 1.8bn) is being invested in a major phased refurbishment and modernisation of Terminal 1 and operational areas surrounding it and Concourse D.

 

Upgrades include the opening of new food & beverage and retail outlets as well as the modernisation of the existing check-in and departure hall. A new train station is also being built from where passengers will be transported to Concourse D. The work also includes a reconfigured immigration area and a new airside arrivals route from the new train station.

On the northern side of the airport, a further $163m (AED 600m) has been invested to upgrade Terminal 2, where new retail outlets and a broader range of food and beverage options were introduced.

“With traffic growth continuing at a rapid pace, we are investing heavily to ensure that the 110 plus international passenger airlines that fly to and from Dubai – and their customers who use our airport facilities – experience a significantly enhanced product, reflective of the high service standards Dubai has set,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

 

Passenger traffic continued to grow steadily at Dubai International during February with nearly 6m passengers, according to Dubai Airports’ latest traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

Passenger traffic reached 5,973,727 in February, up 5.3% compared to 5,675,246 recorded during the same month in 2014. Year to date passenger traffic rose 6.6% to 12,869,395 passengers, up from 12,075,952 during the first two months of 2014.

 

However, yoy growth did slow in February down from 7.7% in January. Traffic on Russian and the CIS routes continued to contract in February by -35.6% owing to the ongoing political and economic instability in the region. Traffic on these routes was less severe at -22.7% in January.

 

Passenger numbers routes to the Indian subcontinent recorded the highest growth (+133,355 passengers) during the period, followed by Western Europe (+103,379), and Asia (+54,332 passengers).

 

Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (+71.7%) mainly driven by flydubai’s network in the region, followed by North America (+12.9%), Asia (+10.9%) and the Indian subcontinent (+10.6%).

India remained the top destination country (802,129 passengers) with financial capital Mumbai as the busiest destination, followed by Saudi Arabia (454,000 passengers) and the UK (431,705 passengers). Doha was placed number one on the list of top destination cities followed closely by London, Mumbai and Jeddah.

“We are very pleased with the steady growth in passenger numbers in the first two months this year,” adds Griffiths. “As this trend continues in the coming period, the recently completed expansion of Terminal 2, and the opening of Concourse D along with the refurbished elements of Terminal 1 in the second half of 2015 will play a crucial role in accommodating that growth and enhancing customer experience across all three terminals at Dubai International.”