Dubai: Runway repair works at Dubai International Airport that has significantly cut capacity at one of the world’s busiest airports is running ahead of schedule.

Dubai Airports said in a statement that refurbishment and upgrade work on the southern runway had wrapped up on Tuesday four days ahead of the planned May 31 completion date. The runway is now back in operation while work on the northern runway has started earlier than expected.

Capacity at Dubai International has been cut by 26 per cent for 80 days from May 1 due to consecutive runway closure upgrades. A number of airlines have temporarily shifted operations to Al Maktoum International at DWC and Sharjah International.

However, others, such as Emirates, have elected to cut rather than shift capacity.

Emirates has diverted just two flights since the start of the runway closing maintenance work that has forced the Dubai flagship airline to operate under tighter schedules.

“Both EK74 from Paris on 3 May and EK 204 from New York on 10 May were diverted to DWC [Dubai World Centre] due to technical issues,” an Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News on Monday. “The issues were addressed at DWC and both flights continued on to Dubai, thereby avoiding additional disruption at Dubai International during the runway enhancement period.”

The airline is grounding up to 22 aircraft each month until the maintenance work finishes on July 20 and has also cut frequencies to 41 destinations over the same period. Emirates flies to more than 140 destinations globally.