DXB becomes world's busiest airport for international traffic in 2025

Dubai Airports today announced that Dubai International (DXB) received 95.2 million guests in 2025, up 3.1 per cent year-on-year, marking the busiest year in the airport’s history and the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded by any airport.

More significantly, 2025 was defined not by a single peak, but by sustained performance at record levels.

DXB achieved its busiest day, month, quarter and year on record, operating at the edge of physical capacity while consistently delivering operational excellence.

What would represent extraordinary strain elsewhere has become part of DXB's normal operating rhythm.

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December closed as the busiest month in DXB history, with 8.7 million guests, up 6.1 per cent year on year. The fourth quarter was also the busiest ever, with 25.1 million guests, an increase of 5.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

Total flight movements reached 118,000 in Q4, up 5 per cent, bringing the annual total to 454,800 a rise of 3.3 per cent year on year. Despite continued growth in movements, average passengers per movement remained strong at 214, reflecting sustained deployment of larger aircraft and high load efficiency. The annual load factor stood at 77.6 per cent per cent a marginal adjustment of 0.5 percentage points.

Consistency at scale

DXB managed 86.75 million bags in 2025, a 4.95 per cent year-on-year increase, marking the highest ever baggage volume handled during the calendar year. Highlighting the airport’s commitment to operational excellence, 89 per cent of all arriving baggage was delivered to guests terminating at DXB within 45 minutes of the aircraft arriving on stand. DXB continued to deliver world-class mishandled baggage performance at 99.75 per cent, translating to 2.47 mishandled bags per 1,000 guests. Passengers processing times also remained stable at scale, with 99.35 per cent of guests experiencing waiting times of less than 10 minutes at departure passport control, while 98.8 per cent waiting under 15 minutes at arrival passport control. Security check waiting times remained below 5 minutes for 98.9 per cent of guests.

'Lifeblood of Dubai'

Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum called the airport the "lifeblood of Dubai", saying that it is a "school in the quality of handling and services." 

The Ruler, who also serves as Vice President of the UAE, shared some of the stats about passenger traffic and wait times for arrivals, and added that the was proud of the team led by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum "for decades with all professionalism." 

Global connectivity

India retained its position as DXB’s largest country market with 11.9 million guests, followed by the Saudi Arabia at 7.5 million, the United Kingdom at 6.3 million, Pakistan at 4.3 million, and the United States at 3.3 million.

Several markets recorded particularly strong growth during the year. Traffic from China increased 16.6 per cent to 2.5 million, Russia grew 6 per cent to 2.8 million, Turkey rose 6.7 pe cent to 2.2 million, Egypt expanded 14.3 per cent to 1.8 million, and Italy climbed 12.5 per cent to 1.6 million.

London remained DXB’s busiest city destination with 3.9 million guests, followed by Riyadh at 3 million, Mumbai and Jeddah at 2.4 million each, and New Delhi at 2.2 million.

By the end of 2025, DXB was connected to 291 destinations across 110 countries, served by 108 international airlines, reinforcing its position as one of the most globally connected hubs in the world.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “Airports are often defined by moments of intensity, but long-term performance is defined by how well those moments are sustained. In 2025, DXB showed that record traffic is no longer an exception, but part of its operating reality. That consistency at scale reflects the maturity of the system and the strength of collaboration across our oneDXB airport community to deliver excellence under growing demand. We expect traffic to approach 99.5 million in 2026, supported by close coordination across the sector and the oneDXB community.”