Emirates Airline begins its phased move to the dedicated new terminal three (T3) at Dubai International Airport on October 14.

EK843 Dubai-Doha, an Airbus A330-200, will be the first Emirates flight to be flagged off from the new terminal.

The first phase will launch all flights to the GCC and the Americas which is about 40 flights a day, or around 15 per cent of the airline’s total services.

Phase two will include flights to the rest of the Middle East and Africa, increasing operations to 99 flights every day, 37 per cent of all flights.

Flights to Europe will take off in the next phase, escalating operations to 168 daily flights or 60 per cent of all of the airline’s services.

The fourth and final phase will include flights to the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Australasia and bring the total to 269 flights every day.

T3 has been planned as a lifestyle destination in its own right, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive Emirates Airline and group.

With a total built up area of 515,000 sq m, the gargantuan terminal has more than 250 check-in counters at departures.

There’s an entire floor of luxurious, themed lounges in the 10 storey concourse with a capacity for more than 2,000, serving the finest international cuisine and offering fully fledged spa facilities. There are also lounges for unaccompanied minors and special needs passengers.

The airport has coffee shops, fast food to seafood and tapas, in addition to duty free and retail shopping covering 15,500 sq m.