Dubai: Flights to 25 flydubai, eight Air India/Air India Express and 14 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) destinations are among those that will be moved to Dubai World Central (DWC) or Sharjah from Dubai International Airport starting April 30.
The flights are being temporarily relocated as Dubai International’s runways undergo a refurbishment over 80 days from May 1 to July 20.
According to Dubai Airports, the number of flights at Dubai International will be reduced by 26 per cent during this period.
While eight airlines – flydubai, Jet Airways, PAL Express, Royal Brunei Airlines, Yemenia Airlines, Equatorial Congo Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Ural Airlines – have reserved slots in DWC, some others like Air India, Air India Express, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Cebu Air Pacific are headed to Sharjah.
A flydubai spokesperson told XPRESS: “The runway enhancement project is integral to the future development of aviation in which flydubai plays a key role. The approach that has been taken will minimise disruption to passengers during this period and operating some of our flights from DWC will bring capacity to an otherwise constrained market. We had advance notice of the work and had planned for the effective deployment of our aircraft and route development, giving our passengers more choice to travel during this time.”
As the flydubai website details: A total of 25 destinations will be covered by Al Maktoum International (DWC) between April 30 and July 21. The destinations include Ahmedabad, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Chisinau, Chittagong, Colombo, Dammam, Doha, Donetsk, Jeddah, Kabul, Kathmandu, Kazan, Khartoum, Kiev Zhulyany, Kuwait, Male, Mattala, Muscat, Odessa, Riyadh, Samara, Ufa and Yekaterinburg.
Flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Jeddah, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kuwait, Muscat and Riyadh will be split between DWC and Terminal 2, so passengers have been advised to check their flight schedules when making a booking.
The website said: “If you’ve already booked a flight, you can check your booking confirmation. All flight numbers for flydubai services operating into and out of DWC will have four digits and begin with the number 5 (e.g. FZ 5XXX) … After July 21, all flydubai flights will arrive and depart from Terminal 2 at Dubai International.”
In the case of Indian carriers Air India and Air India Express, booking agents said two daily Air India flights to Hyderabad and Chennai and six Air India Express flights – to Mangalore (night flight), Pune, Tiruchy, Jaipur, Lucknow and Amritsar - will operate from Sharjah from May 1.
“We have opened these schedules from Sharjah itself,” said an agent, adding that four Air India Express flights to Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut and Mangalore (afternoon) will continue to operate from Terminal 2. Details can be had from the airline’s office.
Rescheduling
Meanwhile, PIA said recently that it will shift 14 flights presently operating from Dubai International to Sharjah from May 1. This will take its total number of flights operating from the emirate to 21. It was not immediately clear what these 14 destinations are.
Cebu Pacific Air, which launched daily flights between Manila and Dubai in September last year, has also announced that it will operate its Dubai route out of Sharjah airport from May 1.
“Those with checked baggage and onward connections within Sharjah International Airport or those who require transfers to Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport will only be accommodated during this interim period if a valid UAE entry visa is presented upon check-in,” media reports quoted the airline as saying.
Meanwhile, Dubai Airports said six airlines – Wizz Air, Gulf Air, Jazeera Airlines, Qatar Airways, Eastern Horizon Airlines and Eastern SkyJets – will operate from DWC while all Emirates flights will continue to ply to and from Dubai International.
An Emirates spokesperson said: “Emirates has a close working relationship with Dubai Airports and is aware of the need for runway upgrading work. We fully support the airport enhancements, which are in the wider interests of Dubai’s development as a global aviation hub. Emirates will provide full cooperation with any rescheduling required and adjust operations accordingly.”
Dubai Airports has urged passengers to double-check with their respective airlines’ websites to confirm their airport of departure or arrival. Dubai Airports’ website www.dubaiairports.ae can also be consulted.
