World's busiest airport handles record 95.2 million passengers in 2025

The airport took off in the post-pandemic years, spurred by worldwide interest in travel and by ever-increasing tourism, business and real estate opportunities in the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai on Monday reported a 5% increase in tourists last year, to 19.6 million, a third consecutive year of record-breaking figures.

The state-owned airport is home to the long-haul carrier Emirates, which powers the network of state-owned and state-linked businesses in the emirate known as "Dubai Inc."

Dubai International showed in 2025 "that record traffic is no longer an exception, but part of its operating reality," said Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports.

Dubai airport saw 92.3 million passengers in 2024, compared with 86.9 million passengers in the previous year. In 2019, just before the pandemic fully disrupted air travel, traffic was 86.3 million passengers. It had 89.1 million passengers in 2018.

India remained the top destination for people flying out of Dubai International last year, with 11.9 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 7.5 million and the U.K. at 6.3 million. The facility served 108 airlines flying to 291 cities in 110 countries.

A real-estate boom and the city’s highest-ever tourism numbers have made Dubai a destination as well as a layover. However,the city is now grappling with increasing traffic and costs that are pressuring both its Emirati citizens and the foreign residents who power its economy.

Dubai plans to move its airport operations to Al Maktoum International Airport, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) away.

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