flydubai’s new aircraft maintenance centre at Dubai South is nearing the end of construction and is due to start operating in the first quarter of 2027, the airline said.

Senior executives, including Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith, recently joined the project team for an inspection of the site, according to a press release. The $190 million facility covers 32,600 square metres in the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, next to Al Maktoum International Airport, and broke ground in 2025.

flydubai said construction is on schedule to finish by the end of this year. The facility will then go through operational readiness, systems integration and technical commissioning before it is fully operational, it said.

The centre will include heavy maintenance hangars, engineering workshops, a materials warehouse and administrative space, the airline said. It will employ 400 technical professionals and be supported by the airline’s existing Engineering Apprentice Programme. Bringing maintenance in-house is meant to shorten turnaround times, improve fleet availability and allow tighter quality control, flydubai said.

Al Ghaith called the project “a major milestone in flydubai’s journey towards operational self-sufficiency.” He said that as the fleet and network grow, in-house maintenance gives the airline more flexibility, resilience and efficiency. He said the investment aligns with the airline’s long-term strategy around Dubai World Central and with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

flydubai said it flies to more than 125 destinations and has more than 300 aircraft on order, including 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners due from early 2028. It expects to receive 11 Boeing 737 aircraft in 2026, bringing its fleet to 100, it said. It operates 98 Boeing 737 aircraft at present, according to the release.

Source: PR