Dubai’s DWC airport to open second runway in 2027

Gulf Business
Nida Sohail
11 September 2026

When fully developed, DWC will have five runways, four of which will be used regularly, with the fifth serving as a standby runway

The development of Al Maktoum International Airport is moving “full speed ahead,” with the first major phase of the project on track to begin operations in the early 2030s, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said.

The first phase of Dubai World Central (DWC) is planned to handle 150 million passengers a year, giving Dubai additional capacity as traffic at Dubai International Airport (DXB) approaches its longer-term limits. DWC is ultimately designed to accommodate as many as 260 million passengers annually.

Griffiths said the next major milestone will be the opening of DWC’s second runway by the end of 2027. The airport is planned around eight nodes, each designed to provide capacity for about 32 million passengers, allowing new infrastructure to be added as demand increases...

Dubai’s DWC airport to open second runway in 2027 - Gulf Business - 11 September 2026