Dubai has approved a new project to build a Dh128 billion ($34.8 billion) passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport.
And Dubai International Airport (DXB) will likely be shut down once the transition is completed – but moves of this kind are more normal than some might expect.
In 1960, when the airport opened, the single runway was surrounded by desert. Whereas, today, it is surrounded by homes, offices and businesses.
Relocating to Al Maktoum International Airport in the quieter, southern part of Dubai, is intended to ensure continued growth.
Neighbouring Abu Dhabi has relocated its airport three times. First from a simple hut and a sand airstrip at what is now the Abu Dhabi TV complex, then to what has become Al Bateen Executive Airport, and finally to the current site off the main island at Zayed International Airport.
Even here, the airport last year underwent a massive expansion, transferring most of its operations to the new Terminal A.
'Hearts in mouths' at Kai Tak Airport
Not for nothing was landing an aircraft at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport known as the “heart attack approach”.
Jumbo jets carrying hundreds of passengers would daily swerve to the right to avoid a ridge of hills, before dropping a few hundred feet above crowded apartment blocks and a busy motorway to land on a runway that was more like a postage stamp.
In 1998, sanity was restored with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport, on the island of Chek Lap Kok. The old airport, built in 1925, was simply no longer fit for purpose, deafening thousands every day on the ground, while leaving arriving passengers with hearts in their mouths. Amazingly though, it never saw a fatal accident.
Airports have been relocating since the early days of passenger flight. Back in the late 1940s, London realised that its Croydon Airport would soon be hopelessly inadequate for the coming boom in commercial international aviation. Planners looked west, to the outskirts of the city and an area of small farms and quiet villages, settling on the little hamlet of Hounslow Heath.
Three quarters of a century later, Heathrow Airport has expanded to five terminals and is currently embroiled in a debate about building a third runway, complicated by worries about noise and the environment.
Istanbul also struggled with its existing Ataturk Airport, hemmed in by the city and the sea on all sides. The new Istanbul Airport, built some distance from the city on land formerly used for coal mining, opened in 2018 and is now the second busiest in Europe after Heathrow. The old airport is now used for private jets.
Beijing has its new Daxing International Airport, the second to serve a city with a population of over 21 million people. Nearly 50km from the heart of the city, its single terminal, known as the starfish for its design, is the largest in the world, opening for business in 2019. Daxing International has four runways, with annual passenger levels rising from three million in the pandemic-hit first year, to nearly 40 million today.
Learning lessons from Tegel Airport
Not all relocations have gone smoothly. Berlin’s old Tegel Airport began as a base for testing airships in the early 20th century and was crucial to the success of the Berlin Airlift during the Soviet blockade in 1948.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of the city that saw it become the capital of Germany again, it was clear a new airport was needed.
What followed was a construction disaster. Building work began in 2006, with a provisional completion date in five years. But 2011 came and went, as did every year until 2020, when Berlin Brandenburg Airport finally received its first passengers.
Problems included fears that the main terminal roof would collapse, a fire prevention system nicknamed “the monster” for its complexity and a baggage handling process that gave workers electric shocks.
Berlin’s experience underlines just how complicated and prone to unexpected delays modern airports can be. But that has not deterred cities from building new ones.
Ho Chi Min City is building Long Thanh International Airport, the most expensive infrastructure project in Vietnam’s history. The Philippines has just approved a new airport with capacity for 25 million passengers in Manila Bay. Noida International Airport, on the outskirts of Delhi, will be India’s largest when it is expected to open later this year.
In many cities, demand for air travel is so great, old airports still continue to operate, particularly if they are close to the centre and can be used by business travellers.
Others, like Ellinikon International Airport, which closed in 2001 after the opening of Athens International Airport, lay abandoned for years.
As for Kai Tak in Hong Kong, it is now a quieter, less stressful place – renamed and repurposed as Runway Park.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
HAJJAN
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The stats: 2017 Jaguar XJ
Price, base / as tested Dh326,700 / Dh342,700
Engine 3.0L V6
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 340hp @ 6,000pm
Torque 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.1L / 100km
