According to the airport’s chief executive, traffic at Dubai International Airport exceeded pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022, prompting the airport to increase its yearly prediction by 1 million travelers.
The Associated Press was informed by Paul Griffiths, in charge of the busiest airport in the world, that more than 64 million people are expected to travel there a year.
In the third quarter of this year, the airport recorded 18.5 million travelers, up from 17.8 million in the first quarter of 2020, just before and at the start of the epidemic.
According to Griffith, the traditional markets of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and India account for most of the growth.
The removal of COVID-19 testing requirements and people’s increased desire to travel, he continued, have both contributed to the rise.
According to Griffiths, recovery is a hot topic and has been a phenomenon in this country ever since the pandemic ended.
The updated figures are good news for Dubai’s tourism-based economy, which contributes around 12% of the GDP of the small country.
In the third quarter of last year, the airport saw 6.7 million passengers.
The amount is much below the airport’s pre-pandemic record-breaking yearly traffic of 86.4 million in 2019.
Seventy-two percent of the airport’s pre-pandemic traffic—46 million passengers—passed through DXB in the first nine months of this year. By 2023, according to Griffiths, they hope to return to pre-pandemic annual levels.
With 6.8 million visitors this year, India accounted for the most traffic to Dubai, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 3.4 million visitors.
Pakistan and the United States represent two important growth markets for travel to and from Dubai.
In the United Arab Emirates, more than 100,000 British nationals reside.
The primary airport in Dubai saw 3.2 million travelers from the United Kingdom.
It accounted for the third-largest share of traffic volumes through September this year.
This year, arrivals account for about 60% of all passengers at Dubai’s airport, with the other 40% being transitory.
According to Griffiths, Al Maktoum International Airport, or DWC, would see an increase of 494,000 passengers in the fourth quarter of the year due to the inaugural Middle Eastern World Cup, which is now being held in Qatar.
There are currently 120 flights per day operating from DWC, allowing FIFA supporters to travel between games in Doha and Dubai.
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