Flight Departures

Al Maktoum DEPARTURES Information

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the departure experience at Al Maktoum International Airport.

Designed eventually to serve the needs of 160m passengers, the airport’s owners wisely decided to start small and for now you’ll depart on a budget airline from the one operational terminal.

Whilst the terminal may serve the budget traveller, the airlines are the only thing that is budget about the terminal.

Whether it’s the eco-friendly design of the terminal, the recycling of the water it uses or the environmentally friendly cooling system that keeps temperatures down in the huge, mainly glass structure, you’ll see that a lot of thought and money has gone into making the experience for the departing passenger one that will make them want to return over and over again.

What you may not notice are the systems in place to ensure your time waiting to leave Dubai, isn’t spent in queues. Over a hundred members of staff work on customs and security, speeding you through to the departure lounges whilst under your feet the state of the art automated baggage handling system uses bar coding to gain a 99.9% success rate in ensuring your luggage travels with you.

Duty free is much like any you’ll find around the world’s big airports but return in a year or so and you’ll have access to one of the biggest shopping malls in the world and with duty free prices. See our airport shopping guide for more details and to plan your retail experience. Prayer rooms, the chance to take a refreshing shower or get a massage or haircut are all there for you to take advantage of.

For the hungry, there are a number of restaurants and cafes serving western and halal food as well as some of the better known fast food outlets.

The airport aims for you to have the best experiences in world travel today and for now at least, they’re certainly managing to deliver it.