Dubai
International
Airport
is
considered
the
Middle
Easts
premier
and
busiest
airport.
In
2001,
despite
the
impact
of
global
events,
it
registered
a
10%
growth
in
passengers
throughput
which
totaled
13.5
million.
The
ACI
traffic
statistics
have
ranked
Dubai
International
Airport
as
one
of
the
fastest
growing
airport
in
the
world.
Anticipating
the
travel
demands
of
the
21st
century,
the
Dubai
Department
of
Civil
Aviation
commenced
a
US$540
million
expansion
program
in
1997
which
was
completed
with
the
opening
of
the
Sheikh
Rashid
Terminal
in
2000.
Dubai
International
Airport
at
present
has
the
capacity
to
handle
22
million
passengers
annually.
However,
according
to
projections,
30
million
passengers
are
expected
to
use
Dubai
International
Airport
by
2010.
With
these
figures
in
mind,
the
Department
of
Civil
Aviation
is
set
to
begin
the
2nd
phase
of
expansion
costing
US$
2.5
bn
in
the
first
quarter
of
2002
to
be
completed
by
2006.
This
phase
will
include
Terminal
3,
Concourse
2
and
Concourse
3.
(For
details
check
Future
Plan).
Remarkable
growth
for
Dubai
International
Airport
16
million
passengers
register
a
18%
growth
in
2002