Dubai International (DXB) had a fantastic start to the year, recording its busiest quarter in history with 23 million passengers passing through its terminals, an 8.4% increase from last year.
Dubai Airports announced on Tuesday that total passenger traffic for the quarter reached 23,052,060 guests, with January having the highest traffic at 7.9 million.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of DXB, commented, “The robust growth trajectory at DXB continued in the first quarter of the year, with the hub recording some truly impressive numbers. Thanks in part to the proliferation of cities being added to our network by our home base carriers, Emirates and Flydubai, in recent months. As Dubai emerges as a global leader in attracting talent, businesses, and tourists from across the globe, our focus remains on sustaining growth momentum and enhancing the overall airport experience for every guest passing through our terminals.”
“With a strong start to Q2 and an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year, we have revised our forecast to 91 million guests, surpassing our previous annual traffic record of 89.1 million in 2018.”
DXB strengthens Dubai’s global business and logistics hub position, connecting to 256 destinations in 102 countries via 90 international carriers.
India remained DXB’s top destination, with 3.1 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (2 million), the United Kingdom (1.5 million), and Pakistan (1.1 million).
The top cities by passenger numbers are London (961,000), Riyadh (795,000), and Jeddah (669,000), followed by Mumbai (637,000).
The first quarter saw 109,238 total flight movements, an 8.3% increase over the previous year, with load factors reaching 79.1%. DXB handled 26.8 million bags.
