More Flights, More Seats: Dubai Airports Expand Network As Winter Travel Peaks

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.

For travellers, that translates into 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:

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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 per cent.

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.

One of the strongest growth stories this winter is traffic from Saudi Arabia, which is already DXB's second-largest country market, accounting for 7.8 per cent of total passengers as of October year-to-date.

Combined passenger volumes from Saudi Arabia reached 6.3 million across DXB and DWC, up 1.3 per cent year-on-year. Growth has been particularly pronounced at DWC, where passenger numbers rose 459 per cent 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 travellers 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 per cent increase compared to 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, launching a daily DXB service from Stuttgart and operating three weekly flights from Düsseldorf to DWC.

The airline has also increased frequencies to Berlin, Cologne and Hannover, including the introduction of its Premium Bizclass offering on the Berlin route, expanding options for both leisure and business travellers travelling between Dubai and Germany.

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