In the first three months of the year, Dubai International Airport saw over 21.2 million passengers pass through its terminals, potentially approaching the number of travelers it experienced before the coronavirus outbreak that halted air travel worldwide.
The world’s busiest airport for international travel is located in Dubai, the base of the long-haul airline Emirates, and it acts as an industry barometer.
The CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, used the three-letter airport code DXB to remark. “DXB’s performance in the first quarter has exceeded our expectations and reflects the strong growth in demand that we continue to see across our key markets,” Griffiths said.
Millions more people are set to pass through Dubai International Airport, a crucial East-West transit hub, as Saudi Arabia lifts all pandemic travel restrictions and China continues to relax travel restrictions.
The airport reported on Tuesday that it had boosted its projected passenger volume for 2023 by more than 5 million, bringing it to 83.6 million. Just before the epidemic in 2019, the airport handled 86.4 million passengers, the most ever.
With 7.3 million passengers, March was the busiest month in the first quarter of 2023. According to the airport, that was the most significant monthly traffic since January 2020, when 7.8 million people used the facility.
This year, the airport’s usual travel destinations—India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom—have been a primary driver of passenger traffic.
Russia has also been a significant market because Dubai is one of the few locations still accessible to Russians despite Moscow’s conflict with Ukraine.
Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, acknowledged last week that the airline still has some double-decker Airbus A380s parked at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, a sizable structure in the southern reaches of the city-state that is slated to replace Dubai International Airport eventually.
More travelers will pass through DXB as Emirates resumes full flights, supporting the city’s vital tourism industry.
The Dubai International Airport offers service to 234 locations in 99 different nations.
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