Dubai Airport Free Zone Metro Station Overview
Dubai Airport Free Zone is the G13 station on the Dubai Metro Green Line, in Zone 5. It sits one stop south of Al Qusais (G12) and one stop north of Al Nahda (G14), serving the Dubai Airport Free Zone business park and the industrial fringe of Al Qusais.
The station is also the Green Line's closest stop to Dubai International Airport Terminal 2, which has no Metro station of its own. From here a short taxi or an onward bus closes the gap to the terminal, which is why daily traffic through this station leans heavily on DAFZA workers in the morning and departing Terminal 2 passengers in the evening.
First and last train from Dubai Airport Free Zone Station
These times come from the official RTA timetable. For the exact minute on the day you travel, the RTA S'hail app is the live source.
| Direction | First train | Last train |
|---|---|---|
| To Etisalat by e& (Green Line) | 5:18 AM daily | 12:57 AM (Mon to Wed, Sun) 12:59 AM (Thu to Sat) |
| To Creek (Green Line) | 5:06 AM daily | 12:27 AM (Mon to Wed, Sun) 12:29 AM (Thu to Sat) |
Pre-book your DXB airport lounge access
Day passes for lounges inside Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Prepay for a quiet seat, Wi-Fi and food before a late flight.
Dubai Airport Free Zone Station opening hours and facilities
Dubai Airport Free Zone station keeps the standard RTA opening hours, the same right across the network:
- Monday to Thursday: 5:00 AM to 12:00 AM
- Friday: 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM
- Saturday: 5:00 AM to 12:00 AM
- Sunday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Dubai Airport Free Zone has the standard Dubai Metro facilities, confirmed in the official RTA passenger guide. The station is step-free, with lifts to all levels, tactile guidance paths, and dedicated wheelchair spaces on every train. Nol card machines and a ticket counter sit inside the concourse, alongside bilingual signage and information screens. Du Wi-Fi covers the network.
Every regular train carries three cabin types: Gold Class at one end, a Women and Children cabin with pink signage, and Standard cabins. Door pictograms on the platform show where each cabin stops. The station has at least one bus connection, dedicated Metro Police, CCTV throughout, and emergency call points on every platform and train.
For Terminal 2 at DXB, step out of the station and take a bus or taxi from the drop-off area rather than walking. The straight-line distance looks modest on a map, but the airport perimeter adds considerable walking time with luggage. A taxi is usually AED 15 to 25 and about 10 minutes depending on perimeter traffic.
DAFZA: a 1996 business park built inside the airport perimeter
Dubai Airport Free Zone, or DAFZA, is the station’s main business catchment and the reason for its name. The free zone was created in 1996 under Government of Dubai Law No. 2 of that year, setting up a trade zone inside the perimeter of Dubai International Airport. The DAFZA authority’s own site describes the zone today as hosting more than 3,400 registered businesses across more than 20 sectors, with around 20,000 professionals working on site.
The placement inside the airport boundary was deliberate. DAFZA was designed to match the emirate’s wider plan to become an investment-driven economy, with the airport as its logistics core. That is why the Metro station bears the free zone’s name rather than a neighbourhood name: the economic weight of the area it serves is overwhelmingly commercial rather than residential, and the Green Line extension was planned around the resulting commute flows into the free zone.
The Terminal 2 workaround
Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 is used by regional carriers including Flydubai, Air Arabia and Wizz Air, and it has no Metro station of its own. Travellers heading for a Terminal 2 flight most often arrive at this station or at Abu Hail three stops south, then take a short taxi or an RTA bus to close the gap. The Metro website and the S’hail app both list Dubai Airport Free Zone as a Terminal 2 feeder, with the practical caveat that walking the airside perimeter with luggage is slow and uncomfortable.
For returning passengers, the pattern reverses: a Terminal 2 arrival at midnight or later can still catch a last Metro service into the city by bus or taxi to this station, as long as the trip beats the Green Line’s roughly midnight close. The last train towards Creek runs around 00:27 on most days and 00:29 Thursday to Saturday, so the window is narrow enough that planning the connection matters.
DAFZA has staggered working hours across its 3,400+ companies, so the station's morning peak is longer and lower-amplitude than a residential stop. For a quieter boarding at 8:00 AM, Al Qusais one stop north often has more empty seats than this station.
Fares from Dubai Airport Free Zone Station
Fares depend on how many zones your trip crosses, not how many stations you pass. A Silver Nol card costs AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two zones, and AED 7.50 for three or more zones, per the RTA Nol fares page. A personal Blue Nol card pays the same as Silver. Gold Class costs double: AED 6, 10 or 15 across the same bands.
Without a Nol card, the Red ticket is a separate, higher tariff of AED 4, 6 or 8.50 by zone band, and the blank ticket costs AED 2 to buy. Children aged five and under travel free, and travel is free for People of Determination.
| Destination | Stops | Zones | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 7 | 1 | AED 3.00 |
| Airport Terminal 3 | 12 | 1 | AED 3.00 |
| Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall | 14 | 2 | AED 5.00 |
| Mall of the Emirates | 18 | 3 | AED 7.50 |
| Expo 2020 | 30 | 5 | AED 7.50 |
Metro Stations Before and After Dubai Airport Free Zone Station
- Al Qusais (G12): The stop after Dubai Airport Free Zone on the Green Line going towards Etisalat by e&
- Al Nahda (G14): The stop after Dubai Airport Free Zone on the Green Line going towards Creek
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