How much does airport advertising cost in Dubai?
JCDecaux holds the Dubai International (DXB) concession and does not publish a rate card, so every DXB campaign is quoted for its sites and dates. The only public price indications are third-party estimates: AdQuick's 4 May 2026 Dubai guide puts takeovers at AED 75,000-250,000 per placement, with a 4-week minimum. These exclude production and 5% VAT, and they are not JCDecaux rates.
What the DXB estimates say
The figures below come from the AdQuick Dubai DOOH guide, published 4 May 2026. AdQuick is an aggregator, not the media owner. Treat the numbers as a planning range, not a price.
| Measure | Estimate (AdQuick, 4 May 2026) |
|---|---|
| Programmatic screens | AED 120-350 CPM |
| Takeover or single placement | AED 75,000-250,000 per placement, 4-week minimum |
| Whole campaign | AED 75,000-400,000 per campaign |
CPM means cost per thousand impressions. All three lines exclude production and 5% VAT. Your quote will use current JCDecaux pricing for your sites and dates.
Published benchmark or quoted per brief?
A published benchmark is a range printed in advance that you can use before you ask for a quote. A "quoted per brief" price exists only after you share your dates, sites and objective. For DXB, the AdQuick figures are the nearest thing to a benchmark, and they are third-party. The actual price is quoted per brief.
What changes the price at DXB
Three factors move a Dubai airport quote: terminal and passenger zone, format and share of display, and campaign dates.
Terminal and passenger zone
Terminal 3 serves Emirates, plus some flydubai flights. Landmark sites there, such as the Grand Wall Wrap (a static wrap of about 340 sq m at the arrivals exit) and The Wave (a curved digital screen of about 87 sq m at the baggage exit), sit on the main exit route for Emirates passengers. They are priced differently from a Terminal 2 departures site, which mainly reaches flydubai, regional and charter travellers.
Terminal 1 and Concourse D serve over 50 international airlines, including Air India and Qatar Airways. If your audience flies a specific carrier, the terminal follows the airline.
Format and share of display
An exclusive static site, a share of a digital loop and a programmatic buy on JCDecaux Play+ are priced on different bases: per site, per share of loop or per thousand impressions. Since February 2025, 378 DXB digital screens have been available programmatically through JCDecaux Play+.
Campaign dates and demand peaks
Demand rises around Dubai's peak periods, and single sites such as the Grand Wall Wrap carry one brand at a time. Peak periods listed for December 2026 to May 2027:
- Dubai Shopping Festival: 4 December 2026 to 17 January 2027
- GITEX Global: 7-11 December 2026
- UAE school winter break: 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027
- Ramadan: expected from 8 February 2027
- Eid al Fitr: expected 9 or 10 March 2027
- Spring break: 5-11 April 2027
- Arabian Travel Market: 3-6 May 2027, expected
JCDecaux does not publish a lead time for DXB. Book landmark sites well before these peaks.
Traffic has changed, so check current numbers
DXB handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1% (Dubai Media Office, 11 February 2026). Then DXB and Dubai World Central suspended civil flights on 28 February 2026 during the regional conflict and reopened in stages from 2 March.
The first half of 2026 saw 31.5 million passengers, down 31.3% (Dubai Media Office, 26 August 2026). By September, capacity had returned to 84% of the pre-conflict level and passengers to 78%. Dubai Airports' CEO told Reuters on 10 September 2026 that about 70 million passengers are expected in 2026 and 100 million by the end of 2027.
Plan your budget on current monthly traffic, not the 2025 total. Passenger counts show market scale, not guaranteed impressions or sales.
Abu Dhabi: published AED benchmarks
Abu Dhabi (Zayed International, AUH) is the one UAE airport in this comparison with a published 2026 benchmark range per format. JCDecaux holds the exclusive Terminal A concession. All figures are media only: production and 5% VAT are extra, and each rate depends on terminal, zone and campaign period.
| Format | Published AED benchmark |
|---|---|
| Lightbox or static panel | AED 10,000-35,000 / month |
| Digital screen, standard | AED 25,000-60,000 / month |
| Digital spectacular or media wall | AED 60,000-150,000 / month |
| Large-format banner | AED 40,000-120,000 / month |
| Experiential activation | AED 50,000-200,000 / campaign |
| Full terminal sponsorship | From AED 500,000 / quarter |
Abu Dhabi's typical lead time is 10 to 14 working days. Abu Dhabi airports handled 32.5 million passengers across 2025 (Abu Dhabi Airports, January 2026). See the Abu Dhabi airport advertising page for sites and formats.
Dubai World Central and Sharjah: quoted per brief
Neither airport has a published rate card, so every site is quoted against your brief and current availability. Production and 5% VAT appear as separate lines.
| Airport | Rate basis | Traffic |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai World Central (DWC) | Quoted per brief | 1.1 million passengers, January to October 2025, +36.6% (Dubai Airports, December 2025) |
| Sharjah (SHJ) | Quoted per brief | 19.48 million passengers in 2025, +13.9% (Sharjah Airport Authority, January 2026) |
Global Activations Ltd sells advertising at Sharjah International. Sharjah's typical lead time is 10 to 14 working days.
What a quote should show
Ask for a line-by-line quote so you can compare offers fairly. A complete DXB quote lists:
- Full site name, terminal and passenger zone
- Booked size, specifications and display type
- Start and end dates
- Exclusive site or share of a digital loop
- Media rate in AED, production and installation, and 5% VAT
- Proof: installation photographs, digital play report and Atlas tracking
Artwork also needs approval. At DXB that means JCDecaux approval, plus MOHAP approval for health products, and content must follow the UAE Media Law (Federal Decree-Law 55 of 2023), with penalties up to AED 1 million.
How to budget
Start from the format and dates, not a single number. For DXB, use the AdQuick range as a rough planning check and ask for a quote. For Abu Dhabi, use the benchmark table, then add production and 5% VAT. For DWC and Sharjah, send a brief. Our Dubai airport advertising page lists the DXB sites and formats, and AirportBranding plans across all four airports.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026.
To get a line-by-line quote for your sites and dates, share your brief.
