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28 March 2024

Trial run of new Dubai airport terminal from August

Published
By Waheed Abbas

Trial run of the fourth terminal (Concourse D) at the Dubai Airport, which will connect it to Terminal 1 through train, will begin from August.

Peter Moore, Head of Terminal Development at Dubai Airports, said: “Concourse D is taking shape with the majority of the roof and external glass façade that overlooks the airfield in place and the rail link infrastructure connecting Terminal 1 progressing well. By August, the first boarding gate will be available for training purposes and enable the trial programme to begin in earnest.”

The new terminal will be home to more than 100 airlines that fly to Dubai.

The terminal will increase Dubai International’s capacity to 90 million passengers a year upon opening next year.

Concourse D will be linked to a completely refurbished Terminal 1 by an elevated rail system, which will offer transfer times between the two facilities of less than two minutes. The 1.5km rail link will run from Concourse D, past the Cargo Mega Terminal and Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) to Terminal 1.

According to Dubai Airports, about 3,500 employees and other stakeholder groups will undergo familarisation and training.

From August, the airport and operation readiness (ORAT) team at Dubai Airports, together with Dnata, the airlines and project managers DAEP, will begin initial basic trials, which will test the readiness of specific equipment and systems. These include the new rail link, boarding gates and transfer of passengers between Concourse D and the rest of the airport.

Dubai Airports said trials will become more complex by the end of the year and will eventually culminate in full passenger trials in which volunteers simulate the full operation of the new facility.

The trials will be used to identify any shortcomings or problem areas that need to be addressed before the new concourse opens its doors next year.