Dubai International Airport hosted a record of 46 million passengers in the first half of this year, authorities announced on Tuesday, despite the disruptions due to the Iran-Israel War
The installation marked its first busiest semester with growth of 2.3% in annual sliding, said Dubai airports in a statement, “despite temporary disruptions of airspace in May and June”.
During the 12-day Iran-Israel war, the airlines canceled the flights to numerous Middle East destinations while certain governments closed their air space.
In the first six months of 2025, average monthly traffic amounted to around 7.7 million passengers or 254,000 daily travelers.
“Based on our performance to date and a positive perspective, we expect annual traffic to reach 96 million this year, bringing us closer to the symbolic milestone of 100 million,” said Dubai airport director Paul Griffiths.
In 2024, Dubai International Airport recorded its highest annual traffic in history, totaling 92.3 million.
“January was the busiest month of the period and also set a new monthly record, with 8.5 million guests,” the statement said.
“While we are entering the second half, travel activity should accelerate,” he added.
The main countries of passenger traffic towards and from Dubai were India, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
The Emirati city, located between Asia, Europe and Africa, has been classified the most busy air pavilion in the world for international passengers for a decade.
Dubai provides for an expansion and relocation of $ 35 billion from the airport to Al Maktoum International, on the outskirts of the city in 2032.
The new airport will be set up in phase, with a possible capacity of around 240 million – which should be the largest in the world by a large margin.
