Burj Khalifa Elevator: How Fast and How High It Goes

TL;DR: The visitor elevator at Burj Khalifa is a double-deck lift that travels at up to 10 m/s and takes you from the ground floor to levels 124 and 125 in about 60 seconds, according to Otis. The tower has 57 elevators and 8 escalators, and its longest lift travels 504 m, a world record. SKY 148 and The Lounge tickets include skip-the-line access, and several listings say they are wheelchair accessible.

How fast is the Burj Khalifa elevator, and how long is the ride to 124?

The visitor lifts travel at up to 10 m/s (33 ft/s), about 36 km/h, and reach level 124 in about a minute. Otis, which maintains the lifts, said in a March 2024 press release that its two double-deck passenger elevators carry visitors from the ground floor to levels 124 and 125 “in just 60 seconds.” Level 124 is 452 m above the ground.

Some ticket listings claim an overall speed record for the lift. This site does not repeat that, because the sourced records say something narrower. Wikipedia describes the lifts as the world’s fastest double-deck elevators and lists two other records: the longest elevator travel distance in the world, 504 m, and the highest elevator installation, in the very top of the building.

What to expect on the ride:

• The screens. Wikipedia notes the double-deck cars have LCD displays to keep visitors busy on the way up.
• The time. Most of your wait is the queue and security, not the ride.

How do the double-deck lifts work?

A double-deck lift is two cabins stacked on one frame, so each trip carries two loads of people at once. Wikipedia says each cabin holds 12 to 14 people. With both decks moving together, the tower moves twice the visitors per trip without needing twice the shafts.

The tower has 57 elevators and 8 escalators in all. Most serve the hotel, the homes and the offices, not visitors. Wikipedia notes that all the lifts run in the central core of the Y-shaped tower, with emergency stairs in each wing. Engineers first looked at triple-deck lifts before settling on two decks.

The lifts are being updated. In March 2024 Otis announced it would modernise 34 of the 57 elevators and all 8 escalators, under a contract that also extends its service work by 10 years. Wikipedia also records one early fault: on 8 February 2010, a power problem left a lift stuck between floors with tourists inside for 45 minutes, and the deck closed for two months.

How do you get up to levels 148 and 152?

Tickets for levels 148 and 152 come with their own skip-the-line access, so you avoid the main queue. The SKY level 148 ticket, from $109 (AED 399), includes skip-the-line access for both security and the elevator. Its listing says visits start in a lounge with a guest ambassador and that the attraction can be visited for up to 1.5 hours, including levels 124 and 125. It shows 4.6 on 24,553 reviews of that ticket on GetYourGuide.

The Lounge on level 152, from $209 (AED 769), includes skip-the-line access through fast-track security. Its listing describes a 2-hour visit with an outdoor terrace, and it shows 4.6 on 2,819 reviews. The Lounge sits on levels 152 to 154, at 585 m.

If you only want a faster start to the standard visit, the fast-track ticket for 124 and 125, from $69 (AED 254), says it skips the line through a fast-track elevator. It shows 4.4 on 1,979 reviews. The 124 vs 148 comparison helps you choose a level. Prices use 1 USD = 3.6725 AED.

Are the lifts accessible?

Yes: the visitor route to the decks is by lift, and several listings say they are wheelchair accessible. The listings for the fast-track 124 and 125 ticket, The Lounge and the deck-and-dinner ticket each show “wheelchair accessible” in their key details. The private city tour says it is wheelchair and stroller accessible.

Two points to check before you go. The standard 124 and 125 listing and the SKY 148 listing do not state wheelchair access either way, so confirm with the listing before booking. And queues are the hard part for anyone who cannot stand long: the fast-track and SKY tickets cut the wait.

The Burj Khalifa accessibility page covers mobility, prams and assistance in more detail. To ride the lift yourself, the standard levels 124 and 125 ticket starts from $51 (AED 189) and shows 4.3 on 92,917 reviews of that ticket.