Dubai Terminal to Open 'in Waves'

Dubai's new airport terminal will open gradually to avoid the chaos that plagued the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 earlier this year.

Dubai Airports Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths says he will tread cautiously when opening the US$4.5bn, 40-million-passenger-capacity terminal this year, Reuters reports.

"We'll exhaustively be testing the terminal systems throughout the summer. We'll put a few flights in bit by bit, in waves rather than a big bang," he says.

The high-profile opening of Terminal 5 was a public relations disaster, with baggage handling system failures resulting in the loss of thousands of bags and the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

The new terminal will enable Dubai to more than double capacity at the airport to 65 million people per year, from 25 million now, though the airport handled 34 million people in 2007.

There is no specific opening day set for the new terminal.

By Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh