Timeframe set for DXB closure as DWC mega-hub work continues

Dubai Airport
04/08/2026 Airport News, News < 1 minute read
Written by: UK Aviation News

Dubai Airports have said that Dubai International Airport (DXB), one of the worlds busiest airports, will close in 2035 after all operations have been transferred to Dubai World Central (DWC).

Work is already underway to upgrade DWC, also known as Al Maktoum International, which will see the airport become five times larger than DXB with operations expected to start transfering in 2032.

DXB is home to Emirates Airlines and FlyDubai who have helped drive the airport from a small single terminal airport with a sand runway into one of the worlds busiest airports serving 95 million passengers per year.

The upgraded airport at DWC will feature five runways, over 400 gates and be around five times the sized of DXB. It is already home to Emirates Sky Cargo and is used by multiple European airlines as an alternative to DXB.

Speaking to the Arabian Travel Market in 2025, Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths said: “There’s no point operating two major airport hubs” indicating that once capacity at DWC exceeds that of Dubai International flight operations would transfer and now a timescale has been put on that.

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