DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The variety of passengers flying by Dubai Worldwide Airport, the world’s busiest for worldwide journey, surged final yr past its complete for 2019 — simply earlier than the coronavirus pandemic grounded international aviation.
Whereas nonetheless shy of its all-time excessive in 2018, the figures for 2023 confirmed simply how far the airport often known as DXB has bounced again from the pandemic. The variety of passengers passing by its cavernous, air-conditioned terminals, residence to the long-haul provider Emirates in Dubai, lengthy has served as a barometer for the aviation trade worldwide and the broader financial well being of this city-state.
Total in 2023, the airport had 86.9 million passengers. The airport’s 2019’s annual site visitors was 86.3 million passengers. The airport had 89.1 million passengers in 2018 — its busiest-ever yr earlier than the pandemic, whereas 66 million passengers handed by in 2022.
Paul Griffiths, the CEO of Dubai Airports, made the announcement Monday on state-owned radio station Dubai Eye.
Passenger site visitors largely has been pushed by the airport’s commonplace journey locations — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Russia has additionally been a significant market as Dubai stays one of many few locations nonetheless open to Russians throughout Moscow’s battle on Ukraine.
Dubai was among the many first cities to reopen to vacationers within the pandemic. That helped enhance the city-state’s tourism trade, as sights just like the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest constructing, and the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab luxurious lodge drew each guests and transit passengers out of airport lounges.
Earlier in February, Dubai introduced its best-ever tourism numbers, saying it hosted 17.15 million worldwide in a single day guests in 2023. Common lodge occupancy stood round 77%. In the meantime, its boom-and-bust actual property market stays on a scorching streak, nearing all-time excessive valuations.
The airport has estimated it’ll serve 88.8 million passengers this yr — nearing its all-time excessive. However that can put rising strain on the already-stretched airport, which had its highest-ever variety of plane takeoffs and landings in a single yr — 416,405.
Dubai has a second airport, Al Maktoum Worldwide Airport at Dubai World Central, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) away in its far southern reaches. Whereas utilized by industrial airways when Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the second airport that opened in 2010 largely sees cargo and personal plane flights. Plans to place Emirates and different main carriers there have been repeatedly pushed off.
Dubai Worldwide Airport connects to 262 locations in 104 international locations worldwide by way of simply over 100 worldwide carriers.