Both Dubai airports ‘good to go’ for 45-day runway closure, which begins this week

Dubai Airports has confirmed that operations teams at both airports in the emirate – Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum airport (DWC) are “good to go” for the the 45-day long closure of the southern runway at DXB.

The runway is nearing the end of its design life and requires a complete upgrade to accommodate future traffic growth, a statement said.

The closure of the runway from April 16 to May 30, will see some flights cancelled and some diverted to DWC.

Overall, the number of flights across the Dubai Airport system will be reduced by 19 per cent with a seat reduction of 20 per cent.

“Planning and preparations have been underway for almost two years in close coordination with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, airlines, dnata, the regulator and a host of other service partners to make sure this massive project goes off without a hitch,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

DWC will handle an average of 145 passenger flights per day during the period by airlines including flydubai, Wizz Air, Aeroflot, Indigo, SpiceJet, Gulf Air, Ukraine International Airlines, Ural Airlines, Nepal Airlines, Kuwait Airways and flynas.

Read: Dubai’s DWC to see 700% rise in flights during DXB runway closure

The delivery of the last piece of ground equipment to DWC took place on Sunday, with over 600 pieces of equipment moved to the airport in the last few days to handle the additional traffic.

“The logistics of the equipment move were managed by dnata and were tantamount to opening up an airport the size of Glasgow overnight,” the statement said.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will a regular bus service from key locations in Dubai to DWC and a dedicated fleet of taxis will serve the airport offering discounts on the flag fare throughout the closure period.

Read: Dubai to slash taxi fares from Al Maktoum airport during DXB runway closure

Dubai Airports will also have a free express bus service operating between DXB and DWC every 30 minutes departing from DXB Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

DWC also offers a free car park with the capacity for 2,500 vehicles.

At DXB, airfield preparations began “months ago” as engineering teams undertook a number of works in advance of the full runway closure.

“Once the runway closes at 3pm local time on April 16, the site will see more than 90 construction vehicles enter and exit every hour transporting more than 18,500 truckloads of concrete, asphalt, materials and personnel,” the statement said.

More than 1,900 employees will be involved in the project.

“We’re confident we are fully prepared and good to go for April 16,” said Griffiths.

“We are encouraging passengers to confirm their airport of departure before they set out to take their flights but otherwise they can expect smooth operations and great service.”