What a DXB to DWC connection really involves
Dubai has two international airports and no airside link between them. If you land at Dubai International and your next flight leaves from Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central, Dubai Airports’ own transfer advice is to clear passport control, collect your bags, then travel across the city. It’s the strangest of our UAE transfer routes, because both ends are airports and the clock is running at each.
The typical case: you land at DXB and continue on one of DWC’s flights, which are mostly low-cost, charter and seasonal. Our driver meets you in the arrivals hall exactly as on any Dubai airport pickup, carries the bags to the car and drops you at the DWC departures kerb. The airport itself sits in Jebel Ali, about 37 km south-west of the city; our Al Maktoum airport page covers the terminal.
Metro, bus, taxi or a booked car between DXB and DWC
| Option | How it works | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro and bus | Red Line from T1 or T3 to Expo 2020 or Ibn Battuta station, then an RTA bus or taxi to DWC. Dubai Airports’ DWC page lists bus F55 from EXPO station. | One person with hand luggage and plenty of time | Two bags per person on the Metro, hand luggage included. No station at T2. Sunday service starts at 8am. |
| Dubai Taxi rank | Metered cab, 24 hours at every DXB terminal | Light luggage, daytime, flexible budget | The meter runs through every jam, and Salik is added on top |
| Uber, Careem, Bolt | Book in the app, meet at the signed pickup point | App users who know the pickup zones | You find the pickup point yourself, with your bags |
| Pre-booked car | Driver in arrivals with a name board, flight tracked, fixed fare | Families, heavy bags, tight connections | Book before you fly |
The Metro looks tempting but rarely works for a connection, because you’ve just collected checked bags and the two-piece limit rules most travellers out. It also means two changes on a tight clock.
Timing your Dubai airport to Al Maktoum airport transfer
Clear-road time is about 52 minutes. Around that you need DXB immigration and baggage, which vary a lot by hour and terminal, plus check-in and security at DWC before your airline’s cut-off. Leave yourself hours, not minutes. Check with your airline how a missed connection on separate tickets is handled before you book a short gap.
Time of day changes the drive more than anything. Monday to Saturday, Salik’s peak hours of 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm are a fair guide to when Al Khail Road fills, and that’s when the 80-minute end applies. Between 1am and 6am the gates are free and the run is close to 52 minutes. Show days at Expo City matter too, since the route passes close by: Automechanika is at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on 10-12 November 2026 and GITEX Global’s exhibition on 8-11 December 2026.
The Dubai airport to Al Maktoum airport road
OpenStreetMap routing takes Al Khail Road (E44) south-west across the city, past Meydan, before the final run down to the Expo City side and the DWC terminal. Expo City is about 20 km short of DWC by road. The inland alternatives are Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311) and Emirates Road (E611), which the driver picks between according to the traffic reports.
Tolls are simple. Al Khail Road carries the Business Bay Crossing Salik gate; the E311 and E611 carry none, and Abu Dhabi’s Darb gates are nowhere near. Our Salik and Darb toll guide explains the charges, and your fare is fixed before the car moves.
DWC to DXB: the connection the other way
Landing at DWC and flying out of DXB? It’s the same drive in reverse, plus one extra question: which DXB terminal. Terminal 2 isn’t joined to 1 and 3, and flydubai uses both 2 and 3, so read your ticket and tell us. If you’re staying in the city between flights instead, see the Al Maktoum airport to Dubai transfer. Not sure which airport to fly into at all? Our DWC vs DXB guide compares them.
Which car for a connection between the two airports
Book for the bags. A solo traveller or a couple with two large cases fits the Lexus ES, a quiet business sedan for the hour across town. A family of five with luggage should take a Mercedes V-Class, which carries six people and five large cases. Groups of up to ten fit a Toyota HiAce.
A long layover changes the plan. With a day between flights, a car with driver from our chauffeur service in Dubai can fill the hours between the two airport runs, and if your onward trip is by road to another emirate, our intercity transfers take it from DXB direct.
