Airport Terminal 1 station (R14) serves DXB’s Terminal 1 – the terminal used by most non-Emirates international carriers – with a direct connection into the building. One stop from Terminal 3’s station on the Red Line, elevated, fare zone 5. If you land with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air India, PIA or most other foreign airlines, this is your station.
Which airport station is yours?
The split is simple: Emirates (and codeshares operated by Emirates) = Terminal 3; almost everyone else international = Terminal 1; flydubai and some budget carriers = Terminal 2, which has no metro station at all. For T2, the nearest station is Dubai Airport Free Zone on the Green Line – a 15-minute walk or a short taxi. If you are unsure, check your ticket’s terminal before choosing a station; the two Red Line airport stations are one stop apart, so even a mistake costs only three minutes.
Arriving and buying your card
Follow metro signage from the arrivals concourse to the station hall. Nol machines and a staffed window sit before the gates – a Silver card (AED 25, including AED 19 credit) covers your first days. City-bound trains are signed Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy; both pass Deira, Union, BurJuman and Downtown. The same two-piece luggage limit as T3 applies, checked at the gates.
Journey planning from T1
Everything is one stop further than from T3: Downtown in just under 30 minutes, Mall of the Emirates around 38, the Marina about an hour. For old Dubai, change at Union (Green Line) – roughly 15 minutes away. Fares are identical to T3: AED 5 to Downtown, AED 7.50 to the Marina on Silver Nol.
Local tips
- Departing from T1 at rush hour: city-bound platforms are calm, but airport-bound trains between 5:30-7:30 PM carry commuter loads as far as Deira – board the front or rear cars for space with luggage.
- Millennium and Holiday Inn Express airport hotels are the closest walkable beds to this station – useful for red-eye arrivals ahead of a Sunday morning when the metro opens late (8:00 AM).
- Transfers between T1 and T3 inside the airport: use the airside shuttle if you are connecting on one ticket; the metro hop is for separate bookings, since it means exiting and re-clearing security.
- Heading to Abu Dhabi? Do not taxi the whole way: ride to Ibn Battuta (about 55 minutes) and take the E101 express bus from the adjacent station.
Which airport station is yours?
Airport Terminal 1 serves DXB’s Terminal 1, used by most non-Emirates international carriers, with a direct connection into the building one stop from Terminal 3’s station. The split is simple: Emirates and its codeshares use Terminal 3; almost everyone else international uses Terminal 1; and flydubai plus some budget carriers use Terminal 2, which has no metro station at all. For T2, the nearest station is Dubai Airport Free Zone on the Green Line, a 15-minute walk or short taxi. If you are unsure, check your ticket’s terminal before choosing a station – the two Red Line airport stations are one stop apart, so even a mistake costs only three minutes.
Arriving and planning from T1
Follow metro signage from arrivals to the station hall; Nol machines and a staffed window sit before the gates, and a Silver card covers your first days. City-bound trains are signed Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy, both passing Deira, Union, BurJuman and Downtown. Everything is one stop further than from T3 – Downtown in just under 30 minutes, MOE around 38, the Marina about an hour – and fares are identical: AED 5 to Downtown, AED 7.50 to the Marina. The Millennium and Holiday Inn Express airport hotels are the closest walkable beds to this station, useful for red-eye arrivals ahead of a Sunday morning when the metro opens late.
Getting here and onward
Airport Terminal 1 is elevated on the Red Line, zone 5, and the two-piece luggage limit applies, checked at the gates. For old Dubai, ride four stops to Union and change to the Green Line – about 20 minutes total to Gold Souq or Al Ras. Heading to Abu Dhabi, do not taxi the whole way: ride to Ibn Battuta, about 55 minutes, and take the E101 express bus from the adjacent station. Transfers between T1 and T3 inside the airport use the airside shuttle for connections on one ticket.