Dubai's long-mooted second airport is finally becoming the main event. Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) is being built out to replace Dubai International (DXB) as the emirate's primary aviation hub, and the two airlines based there now have firm timelines. Flydubai is expected to start relocating from DXB at the beginning of 2027, while Emirates — the world's largest international long-haul carrier — will keep everything at DXB until around 2032.

Why the switch? DXB has essentially run out of room. It handles up to roughly 115 million passengers a year, and there's little space left to grow in its location near the city. DWC, in the Jebel Ali district to the south-west, is being built on a vastly larger site. When finished, it will be about five times the size of DXB, with capacity for more than 260 million passengers annually.

The scale of the project is enormous. Plans include five parallel runways, two passenger terminals and seven concourses, plus over 430 aircraft stands. Cargo capacity is set to hit around 12 million tonnes a year, supported by new road and rail links. Construction is already at full speed: as of June 2026, more than Dhs13 billion of construction packages were underway.

The airline moves are being phased rather than done in one dramatic switchover. Flydubai is going first — it has already shifted cargo operations to DWC, and existing passenger facilities there are being expanded and modernised to handle its fast-growing fleet before passenger flights follow in early 2027. Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffith confirmed the phased approach, meaning travellers could find themselves flying in or out of DWC from next year while Emirates flights remain at the familiar DXB hub for years after.

For anyone with a Dubai trip in the planning, the practical takeaway is simple: check which airport your flight uses before booking transfers or hotels. Until 2027 nothing changes, but from early that year some flydubai departures — including many of its regional and connecting flights — will operate from DWC, which sits roughly 45 kilometres from downtown Dubai, considerably further out than DXB. Long-haul Emirates passengers can relax until the early 2030s.

Whether DWC is a better experience for travellers remains to be seen, but the ambition is clear: this is designed to be one of the largest airports on the planet, and the countdown to Dubai's next aviation era has started.