The partly underground Terminal 3 was built at a cost of US$4.5 billion, exclusively for Emirates and has a capacity of 43 million passengers.

[1] In 2018, Qantas discontinued flights to Dubai, as nonstop QF9/10 from Perth to London were launched and A380 services to London-Heathrow were re-routed via Singapore instead.

[3][4] As of 6 March 2023, coinciding with the launch of inaugural non-stop services from Newark as well as a partnership with Emirates, United Airlines began operating out of Terminal 3, becoming the third carrier to do so.

Terminal 3 includes a multi level underground structure, first and business class lounges, restaurants, 180 check-in counters and 2,600 car-parking spaces.

[7] That record was overtaken by the New Century Global Center in 2013, but Terminal 3 remains to be the second-largest building in the world by floor space.

A large part is located under the taxiway area and is directly connected to Concourse B: the departure and arrival halls in the new structure are 10 m (33 ft) beneath the airport's apron.

It was fully operational within the first month of its inaugural, during which the facility handled 461,972 pieces of baggage carried on over 2,450 flights serving 589,234 passengers.

Concourse A is connected to the two major public levels of Terminal 3 via an automated people mover (APM) in addition to the vehicular and baggage handling system utility tunnels for further transfer.

The building, which follows the characteristic shape of Concourse B, accommodates 20 air bridge gates, of which 18 are capable of handling the Airbus A380-800.

The concourse has 26 air bridge gates and 5 boarding lounges for 14 remote stands that are for the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777 aircraft only.

[17] The total retail area at the concourse is 120,000 m2 (1,300,000 sq ft) completely operated by Dubai Duty Free, and the food court includes 18 restaurants.

[19] There is a direct connection to Sheikh Rashid Terminal (Concourse C) located at the control tower structure through passenger walkways.

[21] 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.