Airport News

The honour belonged to Wizz Air flight W6 2497 from Budapest, which touched down at 11.40am local time.

“Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central will play a vital role in the future development of Dubai as a centre for trade, commerce, transport and logistics and tourism," enthused HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports.

"I am impressed by the efficiency and convenience of this new terminal. The opening of this facility signals the historic beginning of a long-term plan to build the largest airport in the world to accommodate the tremendous passenger growth and contribute to the continued economic and social development of Dubai.”

The new passenger terminal offers full retail as well as food and beverage amenities. It is serviced by one A380 capable runway, 64 remote aircraft stands and has capacity for up to 7mppa.

Three airlines will initially operate passenger flights to DWC – Wizz Air, Jazeera Airways and Gulf Air, which recently announced its intention to start daily operations to Bahrain on December 8, 2013.

Dubai Airports is in discussions with a number of other interested carriers.

“The location, convenience and compact nature of DWC are compelling attributes,” added Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

“Airline and customer interest in this airport continues to grow and we hope to announce additional services in the near future.”

Jósef Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air commente: “I am very pleased that Wizz Air today operated the first scheduled passenger flight in the history of Dubai World Central Airport.

"We have now launched four routes to Dubai from Budapest, Kiev, Bucharest and Sofia and we are confident that our low fares will contribute to the growth of the Dubai market.

"I congratulate Dubai Airports for the opening of DWC to passengers and look forward to contributing to its objective to become the main aviation centre in the region and one of the world’s busiest airports in the future."