Dubai Airport Terminal 3

The partly underground Terminal 3 was built at a cost of US$4.5 billion, exclusively for Emirates and will have a capacity of 43 million passengers once fully complete. The terminal will have 5 Airbus A380 gates at Concourse 2, and will have 18 at Concourse 3.

Terminal 3 is the largest building in the world by floor space, with over 1,500,000 m2 (370 acres) of space, currently capable of handling 27 million passengers in a year. Once fully operational, Terminal 3 will have an annual capacity of 43 million passengers. A large part is located under the taxiway area and is directly connected to Concourse 2: the departure and arrival halls in the new structure are 10 m (33 ft) beneath the airport's apron. It has been operational since 14 October 2008, and opened in four phases to avoid collapse of baggage handling and other IT systems.

The main building of the Terminal contains 82 moving walkways, 97 escalators, eight skytrains (4 each at Arrivals and Departures), 157 elevators, and 27 truck lifts.

The building includes a multi level underground structure, first and business class lounges, restaurants, 180 check-in counters and 2,600 car-parking spaces. The terminal offers more than double the previous retail area of concourse 1, by adding about 4,800 m2 (52,000 sq ft) and Concourse 2's 10,700 m2 (115,000 sq ft) of shopping facilities.

The baggage handling system - largest system and also the deepest in the world - has a capacity to handle 8,000 bags per hour. The system includes 21 screening injection points, 49 make-up carousels, 90 km of conveyor belts capable of handling 15,000 items per hour at a speed of 27kmh, and 4,500 early baggage storage positions.

In departures there are 126 check-in counters for economy class passengers, and 36 for first and business class passengers. Also, there are 18 self service kiosks, 3 lounges for unaccompanied minors, 38 counters and 12 e-gates for Economy class passengers and 10 counters and 4 e-gates for First & Business class at immigration.

In arrivals, the terminal contains 52 immigration counters, 14 baggage carousels, and 12 e-gates (Electronic Passport Control System) used at all entry point into the United Arab Emirates. There are also 4 baggage carousels for oversized luggage.

The car park includes 1,870 car spaces, 163 car rental spaces, 44 Emirates bus spaces, a check-in hall for baggage with an area of 4,500 m2 (48,000 sq ft), a mosque with an area 950 m2 (10,200 sq ft) and 18 check-in counters. The entire car park has a total area of 177,500 m2 (1,911,000 sq ft).

On September 7, 2010, Terminal 3 saw its 50 millionth passenger pass through the terminal. Since opening in October 2008, the terminal has handled more than 197,920 flight movements (departures and arrivals), 50 million passengers and some 70 million pieces of luggage. Currently some 85,000 passengers pass through this terminal every day.

Here is a video:



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