Al Maktoum Airport Second Runway to Open by End of 2027: flydubai Likely First to Move Part of Its Operation From DXB, Starting With Five or Six Aircraft

10 September 2026

The second runway at Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central (DWC), is expected to open by the end of 2027, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said at a media briefing hosted by the Dubai Media Office on Thursday 10 September 2026. Construction is on schedule for a first phase with capacity for 150 million passengers a year in the early 2030s, and two runways will be enough for that whole phase. No airline move from Dubai International (DXB) has been confirmed, but Griffiths said flydubai will probably be the first carrier to shift part of its operation to DWC, with an initial move of five or six aircraft possibly starting next year. At full build the airport is planned with five runways and capacity for up to 260 million passengers a year.

What Dubai Airports said on 10 September

The statement came at an international media briefing and was reported the same day by Gulf News and Khaleej Times. Griffiths called the opening of the second runway “the next major milestone for DWC” and said significant earthworks and piling activity were already taking place across the site. He did not give a month for the opening: one report frames it as by the end of 2027, the other as operational next year, and both point to the same year.

Three elements were presented as the confirmed development programme: the second runway, the first 150 million passenger phase in the early 2030s, and the eventual five runway airport with capacity for 260 million passengers. Everything else discussed at the briefing, from check-in without desks to airport processing at rail stations, was framed as design ambition rather than an adopted operating procedure. This article keeps the two apart.

Five runways, but not all at once

The runway plan is staged against terminal capacity rather than built in one go. As Griffiths described it:

In his words: “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.” When the project is complete there will be five runways, but only four in regular use at any given time.

The terminal side follows the same logic. The wider plan includes up to eight passenger processing nodes, each with capacity for around 31 to 32 million passengers, and Griffiths said those nodes can be added ahead of demand, giving DWC room to expand through the second half of the century. Eight nodes of that size add up to roughly 250 million passengers, in line with the 260 million ceiling (our arithmetic; Dubai Airports did not publish how many nodes the first phase will have).

Who moves first: flydubai, then Emirates, then everyone else

The first airline move from DXB to DWC is not confirmed. Griffiths nonetheless set out the likely order:

• flydubai first. “The first mover actually will probably be flydubai,” he said. “That will move part of their operation to the new airport over the next few years, probably starting next year.” The initial step could involve five or six aircraft.
• Emirates and flydubai as DXB fills up. Both carriers are expected to use DWC capacity as Dubai International runs out of room. “To give Emirates and flydubai the room to grow, they’re going to need to use that additional capacity at DWC,” Griffiths said, adding that slots at DXB will gradually be freed up for further expansion.
• Other airlines later. Other carriers begin their own transition after that.
• Full transfer after the first phase. All DXB operations are planned to move to DWC once the first 150 million passenger phase becomes available.

No routes, flight numbers or dates for the flydubai move were given at the briefing.

Griffiths compared the eventual switch with Hong Kong, which moved its airport from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok overnight in the late 1990s. “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.

Where the project stands in numbers

Combined with earlier statements from the Dubai government and Dubai Airports, the programme now looks like this:

The first phase alone is designed for more than one and a half times the record 95.2 million passengers Dubai International handled in 2025. In August Griffiths said DXB should reach 100 million passengers a year within about 18 months, which is why the sequencing matters: DWC capacity is planned to come online as DXB fills up. The money side was set out in late August, when Dubai Airports said it would award a further AED 55 billion of DWC contracts by the end of 2026, and the new terminal will be served by a 50 km automated people mover due for completion in December 2031.

What was presented as ambition, not procedure

Griffiths also described how Dubai Airports wants the passenger journey at DWC to evolve. These points were explicitly framed as design ambitions and possibilities, not confirmed operating procedures:

• A smaller role for conventional check-in desks, with more of the process completed when the ticket is bought.
• Arrive, drop bags and continue through the terminal with fewer document checks. “What I want to do is I want to make you think you’re not at an airport,” Griffiths said.
• Facial recognition, which is already used to reduce passport checks, and future security systems that could cut the need to remove laptops or liquids.
• Alternatives to paper baggage tags, including a permanent form of identification for bags.
• Airport processing at rail stations. Dubai Airports is talking to the Roads and Transport Authority and other authorities about whether rail connections could include airport functions, so passengers could leave the train and head straight to a lounge, shop, restaurant or departure area. “The idea is it will be more like an arrival at a lobby of a hotel than it will be at an airport.”

Part of that direction is already visible at Dubai International, where 3D scanners that let liquids and laptops stay in the bag are being rolled out across all three terminals. Griffiths added that the physical airport at DWC is being designed with enough flexibility for technologies that may emerge over the next 10 to 20 years, with buildings and technology planned together.

What this means for companies in Dubai

The practical reading is narrow. Nothing said on 10 September changes a licence, a visa rule, a fee or a tax position, and no procedure opened that a business can apply to. The flydubai move is described as probable rather than confirmed and comes without routes or dates, so for passenger travel on flydubai and Emirates nothing has moved yet.

What is on record is the sequence and the dates attached to it: a second runway by the end of 2027, a first phase for 150 million passengers with operations planned for 2032, and a full transfer of DXB only once that phase is ready. The district around the airport is Dubai South, where the 2024 plan placed a city with housing for a million people and companies from the logistics and air transport sectors. For a business weighing an office or a warehouse there, those are the published milestones; the queue free terminal and check-in at rail stations are not yet part of them.

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FAQ

When will the second runway at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) open?

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said on 10 September 2026 that the second runway at Dubai World Central is expected to open by the end of 2027, calling it the next major milestone for the airport. Construction is on schedule. Together with the existing runway, it will be enough for the entire first phase with capacity for 150 million passengers a year.

Which airline will move from DXB to DWC first?

No airline move has been confirmed. Griffiths said flydubai will probably be the first airline to shift part of its operation to DWC, with an initial move of five or six aircraft possibly starting in 2027. Emirates and flydubai are then expected to use DWC capacity as DXB fills up, and other airlines would follow later.

When will Dubai International move completely to Al Maktoum International?

The full transfer of DXB operations is planned once the first 150 million passenger phase at DWC is available. Dubai Airports places that phase in the early 2030s, and the Dubai government has said operations are planned to begin in 2032. Griffiths said the move will be staged over a period of months, unlike Hong Kong’s overnight switch from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok in the late 1990s.

How many runways and passengers will Al Maktoum International have when complete?

The completed airport is planned with five parallel runways, four in regular use and one kept as a standby, capacity for up to 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo a year, 400 aircraft gates and an area of about 70 square kilometres. The design was approved on 28 April 2024 at a cost of AED 128 billion.

Does the DWC announcement change anything for businesses in the UAE?

Not directly. It does not change licensing, visa, banking or tax rules and does not open a procedure a company can apply to. The concrete information is the timeline: a second runway by the end of 2027, a probable first flydubai move of five or six aircraft from 2027, and a first phase for 150 million passengers with operations planned for 2032.