Dubai airports enter winter with largest-ever combined flight network

Dubai’s two airports, Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central — Al Maktoum International (DWC), have entered the winter travel season with their largest-ever combined flight network, adding new routes and increasing frequencies, according to Khaleej Times.

For travelers, the expansion means better connectivity and more flight options during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Several airlines have expanded or returned to Dubai’s winter schedule, opening up more choices for passengers.

FlyArystan has joined the network with twice-weekly flights from Aktau, Kazakhstan, adding a new Central Asian option.

Austrian Airlines has resumed daily services from Vienna, strengthening links to Central Europe.

Virgin Atlantic has deployed the A350-1000 on its Dubai route, increasing seat capacity by 52%. British Airways has restored A380 services from London Heathrow.

Varesh Airline has introduced twice-weekly flights from Sari, Iran. Fly Jinnah has added twice-weekly services from Lahore.

Saudi Arabia traffic

One of the strongest growth stories this winter is traffic from Saudi Arabia, which is already DXB’s second-largest country market.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 7.8% of total passengers at DXB as of October year-to-date.

Combined passenger volumes from Saudi Arabia reached 6.3 million across DXB and DWC, up 1.3% year-on-year.

Growth has been particularly pronounced at DWC, where passenger numbers rose 459% to 173,000, underscoring the airport’s expanding role in handling regional travel demand.

While DXB remains Dubai’s primary aviation hub, DWC is playing an increasingly important role this winter, particularly for travelers heading to Eastern and Western Europe.

The airport handled 1.1 million passengers in the first 10 months of the year, marking a 36.6% increase compared with the same period last year.

Aircraft movements and cargo volumes have also continued to rise, reinforcing DWC’s growing position within Dubai’s wider aviation ecosystem.

German carrier Eurowings is among the airlines contributing to DWC’s winter growth.

The airline has launched a daily DXB service from Stuttgart and is operating three weekly flights from Düsseldorf to DWC.

Eurowings has also increased frequencies to Berlin, Cologne and Hannover.

The expansion includes the introduction of its Premium Bizclass offering on the Berlin route, widening options for both leisure and business travelers flying between Dubai and Germany.