Al Maktoum International Airport

Coordinates: 24°53′17.80″N 55°9′37.36″E / 24.8882778°N 55.1603778°E / 24.8882778; 55.1603778
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Maktoum International Airport

مطار آل مكتوم الدولي

Maṭār Āl Maktūm al-Duwalī
Satellite view of the airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorDubai Airports Company
ServesEmirate of Dubai
LocationJebel Ali, United Arab Emirates
Opened27 June 2010; 13 years ago (2010-06-27)[1]
Hub forEmirates SkyCargo
Time zoneUAE Standard Time (UTC+04:00)
Elevation AMSL170 ft / 52 m
Coordinates24°53′17.80″N 55°9′37.36″E / 24.8882778°N 55.1603778°E / 24.8882778; 55.1603778
Websitewww.dubaiairports.ae
Map
DWC/OMDW is located in United Arab Emirates
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
Location in the UAE
DWC/OMDW is located in Persian Gulf
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Persian Gulf)
DWC/OMDW is located in Indian Ocean
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Indian Ocean)
DWC/OMDW is located in Middle East
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Middle East)
DWC/OMDW is located in West and Central Asia
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (West and Central Asia)
DWC/OMDW is located in Asia
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Asia)
DWC/OMDW is located in Eurasia
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Eurasia)
DWC/OMDW is located in Afro-Eurasia
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW
DWC/OMDW (Afro-Eurasia)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 4,500 14,764 Asphalt
13/31 1,838 6,030 Asphalt
Sourceː UAE AIP[2]

Al Maktoum International Airport (IATA: DWC, ICAO: OMDW), also known as Dubai World Central,[3] is an international airport in Jebel Ali, 37 kilometres (23 mi) southwest of[2] Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that opened on 27 June 2010.[1] It is the main part of Dubai South, a planned residential, commercial and logistics complex.

When fully completed (originally expected 2027, now in 2030[4]), the airport will contain transport modes, logistics, and value-added services, including manufacturing and assembly, in a single free economic zone.[5][clarification needed] It will cover an area of 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres). The airport has a projected annual capacity of 12 million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) of freight and between 160 million[6] and 260 million passengers.[7] As of 2021, only a handful of airlines operated passenger services out of Al Maktoum International Airport with a focus on freight activity.

History[edit]

Construction[edit]

The 4,500 m × 60 m (14,800 ft × 200 ft) runway was completed in 2007 after 600 days of construction with tests planned over the following six to eight months in order to fulfill its CAT III-C requirements.[8][9] Construction of the airport's cargo terminal, the Al Maktoum Airport Cargo Gateway, which cost around US$75 million, was 50% complete by the end of 2008.[10]

During the first phase of the project, the airport was planned to handle around 200,000 t (200,000 long tons; 220,000 short tons) of cargo per year, with the possibility of increasing to 800,000 t (790,000 long tons; 880,000 short tons).[10] The passenger terminal at this phase was designed to have a capacity of 5 million passengers per year.[11] It was planned to be the largest airport in the world in terms of freight handled, moving up to 12 million tonnes (12,000,000 long tons; 13,000,000 short tons) per year in 2013.[needs update][10]

The project was originally expected to be fully operational by 2017, although the 2007–2012 global financial crisis subsequently postponed the completion of the complex to 2027. Previous working names for the airport complex have included "Jebel Ali International Airport", "Jebel Ali Airport City", and "Dubai World Central International Airport". The airport was eventually named the Al Maktoum International Airport after the House of Maktoum which rules the Emirate of Dubai.[12] The total cost of the airport has been estimated by the Dubai government to be $82 billion.[13]

Operations[edit]

Al Maktoum International Airport opened on 24 June 2010 with one runway and only cargo flights.[1] The first flight into the airport occurred on 20 June 2010, when an Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777F landed after a flight from Hong Kong. The flight served as a test for various functions such as air traffic control, movement of aircraft on the ground, and security. According to Emirates, the flight was an "unmitigated success".[14]

On 24 February 2011, the airport was certified to handle passenger aircraft with up to 60 passengers.[15] The first passenger aircraft touched down on 28 February 2011, an Airbus A319CJ.[16] The airport officially opened for passenger flights on 26 October 2013 with Nas Air and Wizz Air as the two carriers to operate from the airport.[17]

In the first quarter of 2014, 102,000 passengers went through the airport.[18] At the time of its opening, three cargo service airlines served Al Maktoum International Airport, including RUS Aviation, Skyline Air and Aerospace Consortium. Fifteen additional airlines then signed a contract to operate flights to the airport.[19]

Passenger numbers in the first half of 2016 totaled 410,278, up from 209,989 in the first half of 2015.[20] Low usage of the facility led to it being described as a white elephant.[21]

Expansion plans[edit]

On 28 April 2024, Emirates announced that the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, had approved a major expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport with the construction of a new 128 billion AED ($34.85 billion USD) passenger terminal.[22][23] When complete, the airport is expected to be the largest in the world at roughly five times the size of the existing Dubai International Airport with capacity for up to 260 million passengers.[24] Plans call for the airport to include five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates.[25] All Emirates and Flydubai operations are expected to be transferred to the new airport by 2034.[23]

Airlines and destinations[edit]

Passenger[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
Azimuth Mineralnye Vody, Sochi
Air Cairo Sharm El Sheikh[26]
Berniq Airways Benghazi[27]
Enter Air Seasonal: Katowice,[28] Poznań,[28] Warsaw–Chopin[28]
FlyOne Chișinău
Hunnu Air Ulaanbaatar[29]
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg
Pobeda Makhachkala,[30] Moscow–Vnukovo, Vladikavkaz, Volgograd[31]
Rossiya Airlines Saint Petersburg,[32] Sochi
S7 Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo,[33] Novosibirsk[34]
Smartlynx Airlines Seasonal charter: Berlin,[35] Leipzig-Halle[36][37]
Smartwings Bratislava, Prague[38]
Transavia Amsterdam (begins 30 March 2025)
Ural Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo,[39] Yekaterinburg[39]
Seasonal: Sochi[40]
Utair Grozny,[41] Surgut[41]
Seasonal: Tyumen[42]

Cargo[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
Aerotranscargo[43][44] Fujairah, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Riyadh, Zhengzhou
Astral Aviation[45][46] Aktobe, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Atlas Air[47] Delhi
Cargolux[citation needed] Hong Kong, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Luxembourg City, Kuala Lumpur–International
Cargolux Italia[citation needed] Milan–Malpensa
Cathay Cargo[citation needed] Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London–Heathrow, Riyadh
China Airlines Cargo[48] Amsterdam, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Luxembourg, Prague, Taipei–Taoyuan
Emirates SkyCargo[49] Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Algiers, Amsterdam,[50] Auckland,[51] Barcelona, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Bengaluru, Bogotá, Brussels, Cairo, Chicago–O'Hare, Dakar–Senghor, Dammam, Dhaka, Djibouti, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston–Intercontinental, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Khartoum, Lagos, Liège, Lilongwe, London–Heathrow, Maastricht/Aachen, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan–Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, New York–JFK, Ouagadougou, Phnom Penh, Quito, Riyadh, Shanghai–Pudong, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei–Taoyuan, Tokyo–Narita, Zaragoza
Egyptair Cargo[citation needed] Cairo
Lufthansa Cargo[citation needed] Hong Kong, Frankfurt
Kalitta Air[citation needed] Brussels
MASKargo[citation needed] Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur–International
Qatar Airways Cargo[citation needed] Doha
Turkish Cargo[52] Hyderabad, Istanbul
Turkmenistan Airlines Cargo[53] Ashgabat
YTO Cargo Airlines[citation needed] Hangzhou

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Dubai World Central celebrates inauguration of Al Maktoum International Airport". Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b "United Arab Emirates AIP". Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. ^ "DWC Dubai World Central". www.dubaiairports.ae.
  4. ^ "Dubai plans $33bn airport mega project: Report". Arabian Business. 8 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. ^ "A whole new world". venturemagazine – Ventureonline. Schofield Publishing Ltd. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Al Maktoum International Airport". dwc.ae. Dubai World Central. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013.
  7. ^ Flottau, Jens; Osborne, Tony (17 September 2014). "First Phase Of Dubai World Central To Be Ready In Six To Eight Years". Aviation Week.
  8. ^ "Al-Maktoum International, formerly Dubai World Central, runway complete". Flightglobal. Reed Business Information. 5 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai (DWC/OMDW)". Airport Technology. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Dubai Cargo Village announces major restructure - Arabian Business". Arabian Business. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Dubai opens second airport". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  12. ^ Cornwell, Alexander (3 October 2018). "Dubai's $36 billion Al Maktoum airport expansion put on hold: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Zawya Projects". Zawya.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  14. ^ "PICTURES: SkyCargo 777 tests new Dubai Al-Maktoum Airport". Flightglobal.com. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  15. ^ "No airline operations at Al-Maktoum before fourth quarter". Flightglobal.com. 24 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  16. ^ "First Passenger Aircraft landed". Smartarabs.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  17. ^ "New Dubai World Central international airport to open passenger terminal in October". GulfNews.com. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  18. ^ Shereen El Gazzar. "Six-figure passenger numbers for Dubai's Al Maktoum airport at DWC in debut quarter". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Al Maktoum International airport begins operations". Gulf News. 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  20. ^ Robert Anderson (22 August 2016). "First half passenger traffic at Dubai World Central surges 95%". Gulf Business. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  21. ^ Morrison, Murdo (2 September 2014). "After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies". Flight Global.
  22. ^ Makary, Adam (28 April 2024). "Dubai ruler approves new $35 billion airport terminal". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  23. ^ a b Rahman, Saifur (28 April 2024). "Dubai to invest Dh128 bn in Phase II of Al Maktoum International Airport". Arabian Post. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Dubai plans to move its busy international airport to a $35 billion new facility within 10 years". AP News. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  26. ^ "AIR CAIRO NS23 EMBRAER E190 NETWORK – 12MAR23". aeroroutes.com. 13 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Flight NB 571 - Once weekly/Mondays Dubai to Benghazi". availability.com. 15 November 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Liu, Jim (7 December 2022). "Enter AIR NW22 DUBAI OPERATIONS". Aeroroutes.
  29. ^ "Hunnu Air Adds Ulaanbaatar – Dubai Service From Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Pobeda Oct 2023 International Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Pobeda Adds Volgograd – Dubai Service From late-Oct 2023". AeroRoutes. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Aeroflot Expands Dubai al Maktoum Service in NW23". AeroRoutes. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  33. ^ "S7 Airlines открыла продажу авиабилетов на рейсы из Москвы в Дубай (АвиаПорт)". АвиаПорт.Ru (in Russian). S7 Airlines. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  34. ^ "S7 Airlines NW23 Novosibirsk – Dubai Service Changes". AeroRoutes. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  35. ^ Liu, Jim (11 October 2022). "SMARTLYNX ADDS BERLIN – DUBAI SERVICE FROM OCT 2022". Aeroroutes.
  36. ^ "FTI® - Beim Reiseveranstalter Urlaub & Reisen günstig buchen". www.fti.de.
  37. ^ "Smartlynx Airlines NW23 Leipzig/Halle Operations". Aeroroutes. 9 October 2023.
  38. ^ "Češi budou v Dubaji přistávat nově jinde. Smartwings musí lety odklonit na okraj města". Smartwings. 8 February 2024.
  39. ^ a b ""Уральские авиалинии" планируют возобновить несколько рейсов в страны Азии". TACC. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  40. ^ "Аэропорт Сочи расширяет международную программу". НИА-Кубань. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Utair Dubai Sep/Oct 2023 Service Changes". AeroRoutes. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  42. ^ Liu, Jim (28 March 2023). "UTAIR ADDS TYUMEN – DUBAI SERVICE IN NS23". Aeroroutes.
  43. ^ "Flight History of ER-BAM (Aerotranscargo–F5/ATG)-21 September 2023". FlightAware.
  44. ^ "ATC Inaugural flight to DWC Airport". Aerotranscargo (Press release). 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  45. ^ "EX – DUBAI SCHEDULE". Astral Aviation. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  46. ^ "ASTRAL AVIATION AND SPICEXPRESS ENTER INTO A PIONEERING INTERLINE AGREEMENT FOR SEAMLESS CARGO CONNECTIONS ACROSS INDIA, AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST". Astral Aviation (Press release). 4 February 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  47. ^ "Atlas Air Flight Schedule". Atlas Air. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  48. ^ "China Airlines Cargo Moves Mid-East Operation to Dubai Al Maktoum from mid-April 2015". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  49. ^ eskycargo.emirates.com - Schedules retrieved 6 November 2021
  50. ^ "ROUTE NETWORK 9 June 2020 Management Summary" (PDF). Emirates SkyCargo. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  51. ^ "Emirates Sky Cargo adds Air Belgium A330". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  52. ^ turkishcargo.com - Flight Schedule retrieved 6 September 2020
  53. ^ "Flight History of EZ-F428 (Turkmenistan Airlines)-11 May 2023". FlightAware.

External links[edit]