Qatar Airways’ Dubai Flights Will Divert To DWC For 45 Days Amid Runway Closure

The deliberate refurbishment of one of many runways at Dubai Worldwide Airport (DXB) is anticipated to affect the operations of some carriers. With the dates of the runway closure approaching quick, airways are asserting the change in plans for flying into Dubai throughout that interval. Qatar Airways is the most recent to launch an official assertion, alerting passengers in regards to the swap to Dubai’s different airport.

Qatar Airways to make use of DWC throughout refurbishment

On April seventeenth, Qatar Airways knowledgeable its passengers booked on Dubai-bound flights between Could ninth and June twenty second in regards to the swap to Al Maktoum Worldwide Airport (DWC) for flight operations. Dubai’s main airport, DXB, will shut one among its two runways for 45 days for intensive repairs, which can scale back its capability considerably.

Qatar Airways operates three flights day by day from Doha to Dubai as per the next 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 excessive demand on this sector, the airline deploys its widebodies (A350, B787, and B777) between the 2 cities regardless that it’s a brief hop. In line with FlightRadar24.com, all three of those flights final a median of 45 minutes.

Refurbishment at DXB

This isn’t the primary time that Dubai Worldwide Airport has needed to scale back capability because of runway closure. The airport is served by two runways, and this time it’s the shorter northern runway that requires an improve.

Whereas common runway upkeep is scheduled weekly, extra intensive upgrades such because the one deliberate require an entire runway closure. The final time this stage of labor was carried out on the northern runway was in 2014, whereas the southern runway underwent an identical improve in 2019.

The airport has suggested passengers who’re because of journey into or out of Dubai through the closure interval to test with their respective airways, the airport, and the terminal of arrival/departure forward of their journeys.

Finances airline flydubai has already introduced a swap to DWC for 34 of its flights through the 45-day upkeep interval “to make sure minimal disruption to passenger journey plans.” These embody flights to Addis Ababa, Bahrain, Delhi, Jeddah, Karachi, Kuwait, Mumbai, Muscat, and Riyadh.

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

flydubai has already knowledgeable passengers in regards to the swap to DWC for a few of its flights. Picture: Getty Photographs

Dubai’s two airports

DXB hosts many of the flights coming into Dubai, serving as town’s main airport. In 2021, it recorded a 12.7 % enhance in annual passenger visitors to 29.1 million beating its personal forecast and retaining the title of the world’s busiest worldwide hub for the eighth consecutive yr.

Nevertheless, Al Maktoum Worldwide Airport (DWC) – often known as Dubai World Central – at all times shares the load when DXB’s capability is affected. The airport has been closed to passenger visitors because the COVID pandemic and can reopen for the primary time on Could ninth.

Nevertheless, vacationers can count on to see the terminal at DWC proceed to function by the summer season, with Dubai Airports’ chief govt Paul Griffiths earlier commenting,

“The settlement once we closed it was that every one the carriers that operated from DWC will relocate to DXB and the thought is that when it reopens, they are going to transfer again there [DWC] to permit carriers at DXB to develop.”