Flydubai Breaks Ground On MRO Facility At Dubai South

Flydubai has commenced building a new multi-bay maintenance hangar at Dubai South in a move aimed at increasing control and generating quicker turnaround times on its Boeing 737 aircraft fleet.

The carrier, which has operated since 2009, broke ground at the site it described as a multi-million-dollar investment near Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), located around 23 mi. southwest of the city, on July 1. The hangar will have capabilities to conduct line maintenance, technical services, materials and workshops for specialist repairs.

The airline first announced plans to invest $190 million in the 350,000 ft.2 hangar at the Dubai Airshow in November 2023. At the airshow, flydubai signed terms with the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH), located near DWC, an area which is home to maintenance centers and training and education campuses.

Flydubai said construction is due to be completed in the last quarter of 2026. The maintenance center at DWC coincides with the airport undergoing a $35 billion expansion to grow five times larger and eventually replace Dubai International Airport, currently the city’s main airport.

Expanding DWC will be conducted in stages over several decades, with the first phase scheduled for completion in 2032. This will see a new terminal built with a capacity of 150 million passengers annually a second runway and other infrastructure added.

Growth of its maintenance footprint, the first designated aircraft hangar operated by the airline, will also coincide with expected fleet growth. Flydubai operates a fleet comprised of 28 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and more than 60 737 MAX aircraft. It is expected to receive more than 120 Boeing 737-8 and -9 aircraft over the next decade. Long-term, the airline is also set to take widebody aircraft into its fleet following an order nearly two years ago for 30 787 aircraft.

“This is a strategic step towards supporting our growing maintenance requirement and capacity as we take delivery of more aircraft,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO at flydubai. “It reaffirms our long-term commitment to innovation, operational efficiency and supporting Dubai’s position as a global leader in aviation and business excellence.”