Dubai International Airport saw a record 44.9 million travellers pass through its terminals in the first half of this year, putting the world's busiest airport for international travel on track to break its all-time record as aviation booms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The results released on Wednesday follow record annual profits for long-haul carrier Emirates, which is based at the airport, known as DXB. The results come as Dubai plans to move its operations to a new, nearly $35 billion airfield within the next decade.
Meanwhile, a property boom and its highest-ever tourism figures have made the UAE city-state not just a stopover point but a destination for even more travellers.
“Before the pandemic, 60 percent of people passing through the airport were in transit to other cities and countries. Now, 60 percent are arriving into the city and 40 percent are in transit,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. “That is obviously very good because it means that traffic into the city is very dynamic and buoyant,” he added.
The airport handled 89.1 million passengers in 2018, its busiest year before the pandemic. In 2022, 66 million passengers passed through the airport, and in 2023, 86.9 million.
“We are on track for the remainder of the year to reach 91.8 million passengers, which is another record for us,” Griffiths added.
Dubai International Airport has long served as a barometer of the aviation industry worldwide and of Dubai’s overall economic health. The UAE and the airline rebounded quickly from the pandemic by boosting tourism, even as some countries emerged more slowly from their pandemic slumber.
Travelers from India passed through DXB terminals in the highest numbers during the first half of the year, followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
Transit passengers from China rose sharply to around one million, an 80 percent increase on the same period last year, although levels are still below those seen before the pandemic.
This has resulted in an airport that was briefly closed during the pandemic becoming one that is now overloaded with traffic. In April, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced plans to move operations from DXB to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) at Dubai World Central, an airfield in the southern part of the city whose development had been delayed by the fallout from the 2009 economic crisis that hit the kingdom.
The goal of expanding Al Maktoum International Airport “is really to try to get the airport to be able to handle about 260 million passengers when it’s fully developed. Now, clearly at DXB, we’re limited in the land space we have available,” Griffiths said. “We’ve probably got another five to 10 years.” [of] “There is still a lot of growth left in DXB, but beyond that, we will need growth in phase two of DWC.”
Plans call for a curved, white terminal reminiscent of traditional Bedouin tents on the Arabian Peninsula. The airport will include five parallel runways and 400 gates, officials say. Currently, the airport has only two runways, like Dubai International Airport.
Al Maktoum International Airport, about 45 kilometres from DXB, opened in 2010 with a single terminal. It served as a parking lot for Emirates’ double-decker Airbus A380s and other aircraft during the pandemic. But it has since slowly come back to life with cargo and private flights. It also hosts the biennial Dubai Airshow and has a vast empty desert to sprawl out into.
Sheikh Mohammed's announcement highlights Dubai's plans to expand further south. The nearby Expo 2020 site is already offering homes to buyers.