Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai Airports on Sunday announced that Dubai International Airport (DXB) will close the southern runway temporarily for 45 days to implement a slew of upgrade works and repairs.
The new upgrades aim at boosting safety, service, and capacity levels at the world's busiest international hub, Dubai Airports said in a statement.
The southern runway at Dubai International will be closed as of 16 April to 30 May for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting and other infrastructure.
During the closure, DXB will see a 29% reduction in the number of available seats, the airport operator revealed.
The design life of DXB’s southern runway is nearing its end and will require complete resurfacing and replacement of the airfield ground lighting and supporting infrastructure.
The refurbishment project will involve the placement of approximately 60,000 tonnes of asphalt and 8,000 cubic metres of concrete to strengthen and resurface the runway and the adjacent taxiways.
Additional capacity will be provided at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).
Accordingly, the total number of flights across the Dubai Airports system will only drop 19% and the number of seats by 20%, the statement added.
“Planning and preparations have been underway for almost two years in close coordination with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects, airlines, dnata, the regulator and a host of other service partners to make sure this massive project goes off without a hitch,” Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said.
Emirates airlines noted that some flights will be cancelled, others re-timed or the operating aircraft will be changed to reduce the impact on passengers.
Similarly, Flydubai has confirmed details of flight changes during the closure of DXB’s runway.
Flights include different destinations such as flights heading to India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt among others.
In general, DXB handles 1,100 aircraft movements per day.
