Airports
Bizav exodus to DWC stalls over cost concerns
FBOs are concerned by the higher costs associated with trading at Dubai World Central.

Negotiations for the transfer of business aviation traffic from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Dubai World Central (DWC) have intensified over the past 12 months and it is clear that DWC representatives will have to overcome a number of obstacles before they secure the full buy-in of leading operators and service providers. Several FBOs have expressed concern to AIN that the next phase of growth at DWC, which is now home to the MEBA show, does not lead to sharp cost increases, especially over land-lease costs for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities.

The closure between May and July 2014 of DXB runways for resurfacing helped speed up the move of business aviation away from the downtown airport, where slots are becoming harder to obtain and congestion is becoming a real issue.