Dubai’s low-cost carrier Flydubai has confirmed it will move to Al Maktoum International airport at Dubai World Central (DWC) at some point before 2020.
Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Flydubai, president of Dubai Civil Aviation and chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, said on Wednesday that Flydubai will move from its current base at Dubai International Terminal 2 to DWC.
“We’re slowly and eventually moving Flydubai to that side,” he told reporters at an aviation conference in Dubai.
The airline first indicated it would move operations to DWC back in November 2014, when Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said, “Flydubai will start moving down to DWC” to free up space at Terminal 2, which is currently used almost exclusively by Flydubai.
Flydubai itself has stopped short of publicly confirming the planned move until now. A spokesperson declined to give a timeframe within which it is scheduled to take place although it is likely to complete before 2020.
The spokesperson told Arabian Business the airline has been operating some Gulf flights out of a temporary terminal at Al Maktoum since October.
Destinations to which Flydubai passengers have the option of flying to and from either DWC or Terminal 2 include Beirut, Qatar, Amman and Kuwait.
The temporary terminal had a maximum capacity of 7 million passengers per year, so it would be unable to handle all of Flydubai’s 7.25 million passengers recorded in 2015.
“Al Maktoum International, when complete, will be the biggest airport in the region and we envisage that it will play a key role in our operations in future.
“It enables us to service the significant catchment area at Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), and beyond.”
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