Dubai Airport’s Terminal 1 welcomes first passengers in around 15 months

Syed Shayaan Bakht, Staff Reporter

The Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1 and Concourse D on Thursday opened its doors to passengers and travellers for the first time after one and a half years.  

Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, welcomed the re-opening of Terminal 1- Dubai International Airport and said it was an important step to accommodate the increasing number of flights and passengers in the coming period.

Musabih reaffirmed customs’ readiness to deal with the passenger and cargo traffic and to provide passengers with an outstanding experience, cementing Dubai’s position as a preferred hub for trade and tourism.

Dr. Abdullah Busnad, Executive Director of Customs Inspection Division at Dubai Customs, accompanied Ahmed Musabih in his visit to Terminal 1. They were received by Ibrahim Kamali, Director of Passenger Operations Department, and Khalid Ahmed, Senior Manager, Passenger Operations Department, Terminal 1.

Musabih gave directions for easier passenger traffic in the world’s busiest airport and ordered all services and smart procedures be provided in the terminal consolidating Dubai’s strategic role in leading recovery and tourism activity worldwide.

Along the same line, Ibrahim Al Kamali said Terminal 1 is ready to reopen after a partial suspension of operations at Dubai International Airport taken to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now all customs systems related to declarations and passengers and clients, and safety and inspection equipment are operational.

Relatedly, Khalid Ahmed said Terminal 1 is staffed with 120 inspectors working around the clock to ensure streamlined passenger and cargo traffic, with the airport prepared to return to full capacity in a few months.

Saudi-based airline flynas was the first aircraft to land at the airport. The flight XY201 was from Riyadh.   


Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

Dubai Airports said on Twitter, “Terminal 1 is back! After 15 months of hibernation, Dubai’s aviation community came together to turn on the lights and reactivate DXB’s T1 & Concourse D  We’re ready to welcome you with our service partners: dnata, Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Customs, Dubai Police HQ, GDRFA DUBAI.”

The terminal joyfully received the passengers in style.

The busy Terminal 1 has been home to over 65 international carriers. These airlines will return to the terminal in phases over the next few weeks from Terminal 2 and 3.

The billion-dollar state-of-the-art Terminal 1 which features Concourse D, opened in 2016 easing the flow of passengers from other two terminals in Dubai and paving the way for more international carriers.

The facility provides world- class service levels for more than 18 million passengers annually.

The terminal was closed since March 2020 with the outbreak of the pandemic around the world.

As soon as the Terminal was active, netizens welcomed the news while some queued to enquire about the flight operations from some Asian countries.  

A Twitter user Shakeel Shakeel said, “Very good to hear, now when flights will operate from Pakistan????”

Another Twitter user Angel Mariya Jose said, “Heyy there, My visa is still valid but its going to be 6 months since my stay in India due to travel restrictions. Will I be able to enter from India to Dubai? Pls do reply…”  

As of now, all flights from India are suspended until further notice.

Dubai’s  airport operator is hoping for a “flood” of travellers as the coronavirus pandemic eases, targeting passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport to grow 8% to 28 million this year as demand rebuilds.

“People think it will trickle back. I don’t believe that. I believe it will be an absolute flood of demand when people get the confidence to travel again,” Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths recently said.

The airport, one of the world’s busiest, could see over 40 million passengers this year if it was “really, really lucky,” Griffiths said, though it was likely to be somewhere between 24.7 million and 34.3 million.

“We’re comfortable with that mid-range of about 28 (million).”

Terminal 1 has an annual passenger capacity of 18 million, while the entire airport can handle up to 100 million.

Griffiths estimated the terminal’s reopening would result in 3,500 additional jobs at the airport, including those working in retail, hospitality, security and immigration.

By the autumn, 90% of the 260 destinations served from Dubai airport prior to the pandemic could be restored, Griffiths said, up from 63% today.

Dubai announced on Saturday some restrictions on passengers flying from India, South Africa and Nigeria would ease from Wednesday.

The airport handled 5.75 million passengers in the first quarter, a 67.8% fall compared to the same quarter in 2020 before the pandemic halted traffic.

In 2020, passenger traffic plummeted 70% to 25.9 million from 86.4 million in 2019. The airport is the base of state carriers Emirates and flydubai whose entire operations are international flights.

Over a two-week period starting Thursday, 66 foreign airlines will move from Terminal 2 and 3 to Terminal 1.