Dubai airport expects 100m passengers this year

• DXB handled 95.2m in 2025
• December was busiest ever month
• CEO predicts 115m passengers by 2031

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is preparing to handle almost 100 million passengers this year, building on a record performance in 2025.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, the operator of the emirate’s airport facilities, said they expect 99.5 million passengers in 2026, up 3 percent from 95.2 million in 2025.  

DXB recorded the “highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded by any airport”, a statement said.

In October Griffiths said DXB expects to serve up to 115 million passengers annually by 2031. 

December was the busiest month in DXB’s history, with 8.7 million travellers. 

The fourth quarter was also a record period, as passenger numbers climbed 6 percent year over year to 25 million.

India remained DXB’s largest market, accounting for 11.9 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (7.5 million), the UK (6.3 million), Pakistan (4.3 million) and the US (3.3 million).

Traffic from China increased 17 percent, while Russia grew 6 percent.

London retained its position as DXB’s busiest city destination with just under 4 million passengers, followed by Riyadh, Mumbai and Jeddah and New Delhi.

By the end of 2025, DXB was connected to 291 destinations in 110 countries, served by 108 international airlines.

Further reading:

• Passenger traffic at DXB reaches all-time high
• With or without the human touch, DXB is a global leader
• Emirates’ Sheikh Ahmed: We’ll invest up to $12bn in DWC

The numbers are reflective of the increasing number of visitors to the emirate. Dubai hotels on Tuesday reported higher occupancy and room rates as the emirate received almost 20 million international visitors last year.

Dubai’s flag carrier Emirates said in November that profit before tax for the first half of 2026 rose 17 percent to AED11.4 billion ($3.1 billion), compared to AED9.7 billion a year earlier. The number of passengers carried rose 4 percent annually to 27.8 million.

Emirates chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum also said that the airline will invest $10 billion to $12 billion in Dubai’s next airport.

The emirate is already working on a $35 billion expansion of Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The first phase includes a central passenger terminal and four concourses, designed to lift capacity to 150 million passengers annually.

The airport will be five times the size of DXB, spanning 70 square kilometres and capable of handling 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually.