Emirates Airline, Dubai's main airline, was honored to land the first Boeing 777 cargo plane at the emirate’s newest airport, Al Maktoum International Airport. The first landing of a cargo plane was part of a real-life test conducted prior to the official opening of the giant airport, which took place on June 27 this year.
Al Maktoum International International Airport, part of the US $ 33 billion Dubai mega-project Dubai World Central, will be the largest airport in the world from reaching its full operating capacity. With five runways, it will be able to serve 160 million passengers and carry about 12 million tons of cargo per year.
Andrew Walsh, vice president of cargo and logistics at the Dubai World Central project, said that "the provisional opening date for the airport is set for late March 2011, and passenger flights will begin then." Currently, the passenger terminal is at the final stage of interior decoration. After the opening of the cargo terminal and the beginning of its operation, the process of preparing the passenger terminal will begin.
