Flydubai will become the first airline to shift part of its operations from Dubai International (DXB) to Al Maktoum International (DWC), with five or six aircraft expected to relocate as early as early 2027, according to Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
For Dubai residents and frequent flyers, this marks the first concrete step in a long-anticipated transition of the emirate's aviation hub from DXB to the larger DWC site. Griffiths said the shift would not happen overnight but would unfold gradually over several years.
A staged transition, not a single move
Griffiths compared the scale of the transition to Hong Kong's move from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok in the late 1990s, though he noted Dubai's project is far bigger.
"By that time, we'll be almost six times the size of Hong Kong, and they did it in 24 hours. I think we will probably take a bit longer than that, but nevertheless, it will be a staged transition, and we will gradually move over a period of months to ensure that we get everyone over to DWC," he said.
Rather than a single cutover weekend, the plan calls for airlines and operations to migrate in phases, starting with flydubai's initial aircraft in 2027.
Why the move is happening
The driving reason is capacity. Griffiths said DXB's ability to handle more traffic is expected to run out within the next few years, pushing Dubai Airports to prepare additional room for growth at DWC.
"The whole idea is really the capacity of DXB will be exhausted pretty much over the next few years, and to give Emirates and flydubai the room to grow, they're going to need to use that additional capacity at DWC," Griffiths said.
Once DWC reaches a capacity of 150 million passengers, the plan is for all of DXB's operations to have moved over to the new airport entirely.
Runway plans at DWC
Al Maktoum International is designed to eventually have five runways, though only four would be in regular use at any one time, with the fifth kept as a standby. The second runway at DWC is set to become operational next year.
In the early phase of the transition, though, Dubai Airports does not expect to need anywhere near that many runways. Griffiths explained the airport would rely on just two runways initially, a setup expected to last until the airport reaches the 150 million-passenger milestone.
"We won't need (all five) probably. We'll only need two (in the first phase). That will last us to the 150 million capacity. Then we'll have to build the third and fourth runways as further terminal capacity develops. We will have five in total by the time the project is complete. However, there will only be four in regular use. There's one standby runway, so if we have to take one of the other four out of action, we've got another one to substitute the capacity," Griffiths said.
For now, the flydubai relocation in early 2027 stands as the first visible marker of a transition that Dubai Airports expects to play out gradually, rather than in one dramatic switch, as the emirate's aviation capacity shifts westward toward DWC.
