Dubai: DXB reports record number of passengers in H1 2025 despite disruptions

Dubai International Airport (DXB) airport announced on Tuesday that it had received 46 million passengers in the first six months of 2025, marking its busiest first half on record, despite disruptions in traffic in May and June due to geopolitical tensions.

The world’s largest international airport saw 2.3 per cent growth year-on-year during the January-June 2025 period.

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It said in a statement that it received 22.5 million passengers in the second quarter alone, an increase of 3.1 per cent over the same period last year.

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According to Dubai Airports, April was the busiest month of the second quarter and the most active April on record, with 8 million passengers.

The GCC regional air traffic was disrupted due to the Iran-Israel air war that lasted for 11 days. Airspaces were closed in many regional countries for commercial airlines due to safety reasons.

According to Dubai Airports, average monthly traffic stood at approximately 7.7 million, with daily volumes averaging 254,000. January was the busiest month of the period and also set a new monthly record, with 8.5 million passengers.

“DXB’s continued growth through a period of regional challenges highlights the strength of Dubai and the UAE, the agility of our operations, and the commitment of our airport community. The oneDXB mindset once again enabled us to manage disruption while elevating the guest experience and ensuring seamless global connectivity,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

Currently, DXB is connected to more than 269 destinations in over 107 countries, served by a network of over 92 international carriers.

Travel activity outlook

Griffiths saw that travel activity is expected to accelerate, beginning with the late-summer peak and leading into a winter season filled with high-profile events across entertainment, sport, and business.

“A standout moment will be the Dubai Airshow 2025, which is set to surpass previous records and showcase the bold vision shaping the future of aviation and aerospace."

Griffiths on Tuesday projected that passenger traffic at Dubai airport will reach 96 million, just shy of the “symbolic 100 million milestone”.

Importantly, In the first half, 99.2 per cent of travellers cleared departure passport control in under 10 minutes, 98.4 per cent cleared arrivals in under 15 minutes, and 98.7 per cent passed through security checks in under 5 minutes, Dubai Airports said in its first-half 2025 report.

India tops

India remained Dubai International Airport’s largest country market during January-June 2025 with 5.9 million travellers, followed by Saudi Arabia (3.6 million), the UK (3 million), Pakistan (2.1 million), and the US (1.6 million). London was the busiest city destination with 1.8 million passengers, followed by Riyadh (1.5 million), Mumbai (1.2 million), Jeddah and New Delhi (1.1 million each), and Istanbul (982,000 ).

DXB handled 222,000 total flights during the first half of the year, while the load factor reached 76 per cent. A total of 41.8 million bags were processed, with 91 per cent delivered within 45 minutes on arrival. The mishandled baggage rate remained low at just 2 bags per 1,000 passengers, significantly outperforming the 2024 industry average of 6.3 reported by SITA. The airport is on track to process over 85 million bags by year-end, surpassing its previous record of 81.2 million set in 2024. The busiest baggage days were between January 3-5, with daily volumes reaching 300,000 bags.

Waheed Abbas

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.