This notice was published in April 2019 and describes work that has long since been completed. The runway rehabilitation at Dubai International ran for 45 days in 2019 and finished that May. It is kept here as a record of how a major runway closure affects private movements, not as current operational information. For current Dubai operations see our Dubai Al Maktoum guide, and confirm any live restriction before planning against it.
Dubai’s southern runway (RWY 12R/30L) will be closed from Apr 16 to May 30 for Runway Rehabilitation.
This project will strengthen and resurface the runway and the adjacent taxiway involving the placement of approximately 60,000 tonnes of asphalt and 8,000m3 of concrete. At the same time, over 5,500 runway lights and 800 km of primary cables will be replaced. This work can only be completed with a closure of the runway for a period of 45 days, meaning that capacity will be severely reduced.
With only one runway in use (RWY 12L/30R), operating at 96% capacity at one of the world’s busiest airport, Slots will be very hard to obtain as Dubai Airports prioritize commercial airlines which are already affected by this massive project.
Most flights will be diverted to Dubai World Central (DWC) during the 45-day upgrade of southern runway.
The diversion from 16 April to 30 May means flight traffic is expected to surge as much as 700% at the DWC according to authorities, running into the same Slot issue as DXB.
We recommend to apply for the Slots as soon as you can in order to avoid any unwanted situations that you might not be able to operate on DXB or DWC.
Written by - Kevin Singh
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