Massive airport projects in Dubai and Saudi Arabia set to reshape MENA’s aviation landscape
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Posted: 23 January 2025 | Gabriel Higgins | No comments yet
Dubai and Saudi Arabia’s ambitious airport developments will significantly boost passenger capacity, solidifying the region’s position as a global aviation hub.
Two major airport developments in Dubai and Saudi Arabia are set to significantly boost passenger capacity, with Dubai International Airport new terminal and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman International Airport (KSIA) projected to handle 260 million and 185 million passengers annually, respectively. Dubai is constructing the world’s largest airport terminal, costing US$35b, which will feature 400 gates and five parallel runways. With a target of 300 million passengers by 2030, Saudi Arabia is building the US$50-billion KSIA in Riyadh, aiming to become the world’s largest airport by passenger capacity upon completion in 2030.
These two projects account for almost 80% of the airport development expenditure across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Saudi Arabia leads the region with US$7.5b in active airport projects as of 2023, followed by Kuwait with US$4.5b. Other developments include Saudi Arabia’s New Abha Airport, which will increase its capacity to 13m passengers annually upon completion, and Musandam Airport in Oman, set to open by Q4 2026 with a US$250m investment.
Additional projects include the Red Sea International Airport in Saudi Arabia, expected to handle one million passengers annually by 2030, and the expansion of Sharjah International Airport in the UAE, due for completion by 2026. In Kuwait, a new terminal with 28 gates will increase capacity to 50 million passengers per year, operational by 2025/2026. Iraq plans to open three major airports by 2025, while Egypt is expanding its airport infrastructure to handle 72.2 million passengers by 2025.
“The Middle East has remained one of the world’s fastest growing hubs for the civil aviation industry given its unwavering commitment to airport and airline developments and being at the new global travel crossroads. Regional airports have remained leading adaptors of new technologies given their unwavering commitment to airport and airline developments and being at the new global travel crossroads.
Over the past 23 years, the Airport Show has proved itself to be the best platform to source everything crucial that the region’s airports, now numbering 110, require. The 24th edition of the Airport Show will continue climbing the ladder of spectacular success,” remarked May Ismail, Event Manager at RX, a global company that organises about 400 events across 42 industry sectors in 22 countries including the Airport Show. “For the Middle East airports, the focus is not on surviving but thriving and bringing about tectonic changes to the landscape.”
Related topics
Airlines, Airport construction and design, Airport crisis management, Airport development, Passenger experience and seamless travel, Sustainability