Dubai World Central (DWC) will see the number of passenger flights skyrocket by 700 per cent as it takes on additional traffic during the 45-day period when Dubai International Airport’s (DXB) southern runway is closed for a complete refurbishment from 16 April to 30 May, 2019.
The closure will reduce the hub airport’s capacity meaning DWC will be used to absorb affected scheduled, charter, cargo and general aviation operations.
During the 45-day period, DWC will see an average of 158 passenger flight movements per day operated by two charter carriers and 16 scheduled airlines including flydubai, Wizz Air, Aeroflot, Condor, Air India, Air India Express, Indigo, SpiceJet, Gulf Air, Royal Jordanian, Himalaya Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Nepal Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Salam Air, Mahan Air, flynas, and Azur Air.
Although DXB will effectively be without 50 per cent of its runways, the actual reduction in passenger flights will only be 32 per cent thanks to an optimised schedule that will see the northern runway used to 96 per cent of its capacity.
Due to the deployment of larger aircraft by some airlines during the closure period, the number of seats will only decrease by 26 per cent. Finally, thanks to the additional capacity provided by DWC, the number of flights across the Dubai Airport system will see a reduction of just 10 per cent and a seat reduction of just 11 per cent.
The schedule has been almost a year in the making as Dubai Airports engaged all airlines in April last year to adjust their schedules versus the six-month period typically required by IATA/ICAO. An independent slot coordinator was appointed to oversee this process and rules were applied equally to all passenger airlines. The timing of the closure further minimises impact as the holy month of Ramadan is typically the quietest period at DXB in terms of traffic.
“We’re pleased that we have managed to maintain as much choice as possible for customers,” said Dubai Airports chief executive officer, Paul Griffiths. “The most significant change for passengers during the period will be the need to confirm the airport that they travelling to or from. That said, we’re confident customers and airlines will be impressed by the speed, efficiency and convenience of Dubai’s second airport.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase DWC’s newly expanded facilities that can now accommodate up to 26.5 million passengers annually and we’re confident that it will shine.”
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority will provide a fully integrated ground transportation solution for DWC with a regular bus service from key locations in Dubai and a dedicated fleet of taxis serving the airport.
Dubai Airports will also have an express bus service operating between DXB and DWC every 30 minutes departing from DXB Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Customers will also be able to take advantage of the free shaded parking at DWC’s 2,500 capacity car park.
