• dxbapril182019
    Dubai International Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    DXB/OMDB
    Country:
    United Arab Emirates
    CEO:
    Paul Griffiths
    Passenger Count :
    29,100,000 (2021)
    Runways :
    12L/30R - 4,000m (13,123ft) | 12R/30L - 4,450m (14,560ft)
    Terminals:
    Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3

The planned refurbishment of one of the runways at Dubai International Airport (DXB) is expected to impact the operations of some carriers. With the dates of the runway closure approaching fast, airlines are announcing the change in plans for flying into Dubai during that period. Qatar Airways is the latest to release an official statement, alerting passengers about the switch to Dubai’s other airport.

Qatar Airways to use DWC during refurbishment

On April 17th, Qatar Airways informed its passengers booked on Dubai-bound flights between May 9th and June 22nd about the switch to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) for flight operations. Dubai’s primary airport, DXB, will close one of its two runways for 45 days for extensive repairs, which will reduce its capacity significantly.

Qatar Airways operates three flights daily from Doha to Dubai as per the following schedule:

QR 1002

Departure: 01:00

Arrival: 03:15

QR 1018

Departure: 18:40

Arrival: 20:55

QR 1014

Departure: 19:15

Arrival: 21:30

Given the high demand in this sector, the airline deploys its widebodies (A350, B787, and B777) between the two cities even though it’s a short hop. According to FlightRadar24.com, all three of these flights last an average of 45 minutes.

Refurbishment at DXB

This isn’t the first time that Dubai International Airport has had to reduce capacity due to runway closure. The airport is served by two runways, and this time it’s the shorter northern runway that requires an upgrade.

While regular runway maintenance is scheduled weekly, more extensive upgrades such as the one planned require a complete runway closure. The last time this level of work was carried out on the northern runway was in 2014, while the southern runway underwent a similar upgrade in 2019.

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The airport has advised passengers who are due to travel into or out of Dubai during the closure period to check with their respective airlines, the airport, and the terminal of arrival/departure ahead of their journeys.

Budget airline flydubai has already announced a switch to DWC for 34 of its flights during the 45-day maintenance period “to ensure minimum disruption to passenger travel plans.” These include flights to Addis Ababa, Bahrain, Delhi, Jeddah, Karachi, Kuwait, Mumbai, Muscat, and Riyadh.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will also provide bus service between all terminals at DWC and DXB, and passengers will be given complimentary parking at DWC.

flydubai has already informed passengers about the switch to DWC for some of its flights. Photo: Getty Images

Dubai’s two airports

DXB hosts most of the flights coming into Dubai, serving as the city’s primary airport. In 2021, it recorded a 12.7 % increase in annual passenger traffic to 29.1 million beating its own forecast and retaining the title of the world’s busiest international hub for the eighth consecutive year.

However, Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) – also known as Dubai World Central – always shares the load when DXB’s capacity is affected. The airport has been closed to passenger traffic since the COVID pandemic and will reopen for the first time on May 9th.

However, travelers can expect to see the terminal at DWC continue to operate through the summer, with Dubai Airports’ chief executive Paul Griffiths earlier commenting,

“The agreement when we closed it was that all the carriers that operated from DWC will relocate to DXB and the idea is that once it reopens, they will move back there [DWC] to allow carriers at DXB to grow.”