DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest travel hub, is expected to handle close to 100 million passengers this year, its operator said on Wednesday, building on a record performance in 2025.
Dubai Airports forecasts 99.5 million passengers in 2026, it said in a statement, as demand strengthens across several major markets.
DXB handled 95.2 million passengers last year, up 3.1% from 2024. India, Saudi Arabia and Britain remained among its largest markets, while China, Egypt and Italy recorded double-digit growth.
“We’ve had some pretty good growing markets…and those, I think, are the markets where there’s going to be considerable potential,” Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told Reuters in an interview, mentioning countries including China and Russia.
“We’re adding more routes to Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that Riyadh Air, which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and commenced operations last year, will start operating a route to and from DXB “over the next few months.”
Dubai, home to the world’s tallest tower and palm-shaped islands, is the Middle East’s biggest tourism and trade hub. It is also a key connecting point for flights between Europe and Asia, and last year welcomed 19.6 million international overnight visitors, according to government data.
DXB had its busiest day, month, quarter and year on record in 2025, operating “at the edge of physical capacity,” Dubai Airports said.
Griffiths said investment to roll out advanced hand baggage screening machines was helping to smooth the flow of traffic.
To meet rising demand and a fast-growing population, the emirate has announced a major $35 billion expansion at its second airport, Al Maktoum International, also operated by Dubai Airports.
That airport reported 30% growth in flights over the last year and handled 1.4 million passengers.
The expansion is designed to allow it to handle 150 million passengers per year over the next decade, before reaching an annual capacity of 260 million passengers when complete.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Mark Potter and Jamie Freed)
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