Terminal 1 of Dubai Airports to reopen on June 24

Our Correspondent

Dubai Airports has announced that it will reopen Dubai’s International’s Terminal 1 and Concourse D on June 24. The facilities were closed on March 25, 2020 following the partial suspension of operations at DXB to control the spread of COVID-19.

“On June 24, 2021, the Terminal 1 and Concourse D facilities at Dubai International (DXB) will be reopening. To ensure we continue to offer a safe, smooth and easy airport journey for all our guests, we will be moving the operations of some airlines from Terminal 3 over to Terminal 1,” Dubai Airports said on its website.

The $1.2 billion Concourse D, opened in February 2016, is linked to Terminal 1 by an airport train, and the two facilities catered to 18 million passengers annually before the pandemic hit the travel industry.

Welcoming the reopening of Terminal 1 as an important step in preparing to accommodate the anticipated growth in travel demand in the coming months, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports, said, “Dubai’s aviation sector has been at the forefront of a global campaign to restore vital international air services with the opening of quarantine-free travel corridors between the UAE and multiple countries around the world. This move signals our confidence that the outlook for the rest of the year and beyond is one of optimism, as well as being a clear indication of Dubai’s intent to lead the aviation industry to enable social and economic world recovery.”

The reopening of the facilities will enable the gradual return of over 40 international carriers that are currently operating from Terminals 2 and 3 back to their home terminal at DXB.

Indian carrier Air India will return to Terminal 1 for future flights. “Effective June 24, 2021 (10 am), all Air India flights will arrive and depart from Terminal 1 of Dubai International Airport,” the airline said on its website.

Dubai Airports has advised passengers to confirm their terminal of departure and arrival with their airline before coming to the airport. The transition will be managed in several stages, and the relocation will be completed by the end of June.

In order to further enhance safe international travel while accelerating the recovery of the travel sector, one of the world’s largest and most modern in-house airport labs for processing of COVID-19 RT PCR tests was opened at Dubai International (DXB) on June 22.

This was the outcome of a close cooperation between Dubai Airports, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Pure Health, a state-of-the-art laboratory. Located close to Terminal 2, the 20,000 square-foot laboratory is a dedicated facility for round-the-clock processing of RT-PCR test samples collected from passengers at DXB. Using the latest WHO-standard COVID-19 RT-PCR testing equipment, the lab can process up to 100,000 samples per day and provide reliable results within a few hours. The lab is is linked to government reporting platforms to ensure secure and easy sharing of information between health and regulatory authorities and airlines.