Airport
Al Maktoum International
OMDW · DWC · Asia/Dubai
In short
Should a private jet use Al Maktoum or Dubai International?
Al Maktoum for almost every private flight. It is Dubai's dedicated business-aviation field: no slot constraints, a private terminal, a 14,764 ft runway that takes anything including VIP airliners, and typically ten minutes from car to aircraft. The trade is road time — around forty minutes to Downtown Dubai against fifteen from DXB — which is the only reason to choose the other one.
- 14,764 ft
- longest runway
- 24 h
- customs
- None
- slots
- None
- night curfew
Handlers
- Jetex Flight SupportVIP Terminal
- Falcon Aviation Services
Handling for a heavy jet runs roughly $2,500–$5,000, covering landing, parking, navigation and the FBO.
01Arrival
Getting into the city
Al Maktoum sits in Dubai South, south-west of the city. Reckon on forty minutes to Downtown and DIFC in normal traffic, thirty-five to Dubai Marina and JBR, and around fifty to Deira. The route is motorway almost the whole way, so the figure is reliable outside the morning peak rather than optimistic. Abu Dhabi is around ninety minutes, which occasionally makes DWC the sensible arrival for the western emirates. Cars are permitted onto the ramp at both main handlers, so the transfer is genuinely door to door rather than door to terminal.
02Handling
On the ground
Jetex operates the main VIP terminal and Falcon Aviation Services the other, and both are geared to business aviation rather than to overflow from the airline side. Handling for a heavy jet runs roughly $2,500 to $5,000 covering landing, parking, navigation and the FBO, which is expensive by regional standards and cheap against nothing at all. Customs and immigration are inside the terminal, staffed around the clock, and take minutes rather than the twenty a main terminal costs. Overnight parking is charged separately and rises steeply with aircraft weight.
03Constraints
What can stop you
Very few. There are no slot restrictions and no night curfew, which is precisely why long-haul traffic from Europe and the United States arrives here rather than at DXB. Parking is the one thing that tightens, over the New Year period and around the airshow, when aircraft occasionally drop passengers and reposition to Ras Al Khaimah or Sharjah to wait. Summer heat affects performance rather than availability: at 45°C an aircraft near its maximum take-off weight may need a longer runway or less fuel, which on a long westbound sector can mean a technical stop that would not exist in February.
Dubai’s dedicated business-aviation field. No slot constraints, private terminal, and typically 10 minutes from car to aircraft. Roughly 40 minutes from Downtown Dubai by road versus 15 from DXB.
04The field
What this runway takes
Runway length is the constraint that decides which aircraft can use a field at all, and it is the reason a class that suits your distance sometimes cannot use the airport you wanted. Al Maktoum International has 14,764 feet, which admits the classes below. Where a class is excluded here, the nearest alternative field is usually the answer rather than a different aircraft.
- TurbopropsOperates · needs 3,000 ft
- Very light jetsOperates · needs 3,200 ft
- Light jetsOperates · needs 3,500 ft
- Midsize jetsOperates · needs 4,200 ft
- Super-midsize jetsOperates · needs 4,800 ft
- Heavy jetsOperates · needs 5,200 ft
- Ultra-long-range jetsOperates · needs 5,800 ft
- VIP airlinersOperates · needs 6,500 ft
Minimums are for a typical aircraft of the class at moderate weight and temperature. A hot day, a full cabin or a wet runway all push the requirement up, which is why an aircraft that fits on paper occasionally does not on the day.
05Traffic
Routes through Al Maktoum International
- Dubai → London
2,978 nm · 6 h 50 min
from $67,500–$113,000
- Dubai → Geneva
2,662 nm · 6 h 10 min
from $47,500–$89,000
- Dubai → Riyadh
461 nm · 1 h 30 min
from $9,000–$18,000
- Dubai → Maldives
1,634 nm · 4 h
from $26,500–$50,000
- Istanbul → Dubai
1,642 nm · 4 h
from $25,500–$42,000
06Get a price
Flying from Al Maktoum International
Send the other end of the trip and a date. If a different airport nearby would serve you better — cheaper handling, no curfew, a shorter drive — we will say so rather than quote what you asked for.
Questions
- How early do I need to arrive at the airport?
- Fifteen minutes before departure at a private terminal, and often less. There is no check-in desk and no security queue. On international departures passport control happens at the FBO, usually in under five minutes. At many airports your car can drive to the aircraft steps.
- How quickly can you find me a private jet?
- Usually within 15 minutes, at any hour. Send the route, the date and the number of passengers, and you get back concrete aircraft with an all-in price. If the route needs a landing permit — Saudi Arabia and India are the common cases — availability comes back in minutes but the permit itself can take 24 to 48 hours, and we will say so in the first reply rather than after you have paid.
- Can I pay for a private jet with Bitcoin or USDT?
- Yes. We accept Bitcoin and USDT on TRC-20 and ERC-20 for the full charter price, with no crypto surcharge. You receive the wallet address only after the aircraft is confirmed, so you know the operator and the tail number before any money moves. The USD amount is fixed on the invoice and held for 30 minutes against the exchange rate.
- How far in advance do I need to book?
- Four to six hours is usually enough for a domestic or intra-European leg if an aircraft is already positioned nearby. Intercontinental flights need longer for crew duty time, overflight and landing permits. The genuine constraints are seasonal: Nice and Ibiza in July, Geneva in ski season, and Riyadh at any time because of permit lead times.