Middle East · United Arab Emirates

Handling at Dubai Al Maktoum (OMDW)

We handle overflight permits, slots, flight plans, fuel, customs and the turnaround at Dubai Al Maktoum. One coordinator owns the stop at Dubai Al Maktoum, from the first filing to wheels up.

AERODROME

--:-- local

ICAO: OMDW
IATA: DWC
Elevation: 114 ft
Position: 24.896, 55.162

RUNWAYS

12/304,500 m / 14,764 ftAsphalt
13/311,838 m / 6,030 ftAsphalt

Reference only, not for flight planning. Lengths are full declared runway length rather than declared distances, and this page is not amended on the AIRAC cycle. Check the current AIP and NOTAMs, or ask the desk and we will check them for you.

The field

What OMDW is actually like

Al Maktoum is where business aviation goes in Dubai. It was built with private movements as a first-class use rather than an afterthought, and it hosts the region's principal business aviation event.

Operating brief

What we handle before you file

Permits

Landing permits come from the UAE GCAA, efficiently but not instantly. Commercial operators need traffic rights alongside the permit, and both want starting before the schedule is fixed.

Slots and parking

Prior permission applies and parking is allocated. Al Maktoum has capacity that Dubai International does not, which is the main reason to use it.

Customs and border

Visa requirements vary sharply by passport and some nationalities need arranging in advance rather than processing on arrival. Check the passenger list against that early, because it is the item most likely to strand someone.

When it gets tight

The MEBAA show in alternate Decembers, the winter season from November through March, and the run of regional conferences. Summer heat affects aircraft performance more than it affects demand.

On the ground

Off the aircraft and into the car

Forty-five minutes to Dubai Marina and longer to Downtown, which is the price of the capacity. Facilities on the field are excellent and the ground experience is as good as anywhere in the network. Factor the drive into arrival timing rather than discovering it.

Alternates

Where we go when OMDW will not take the trip

Every one of these is a field we would put to you with the reason attached, not a list of nearby runways.

OMDB
Dubai International
Closer to the city with full capability, but business aviation sits behind an enormous scheduled operation.
OMSJ
Sharjah
Twenty minutes north east, less congested, and often cheaper on the ground.
OMAA
Abu Dhabi Zayed
Ninety minutes down the coast, with capacity and a separate emirate's procedures.

What we handle here