One of the world’s busiest airports experienced a dramatic decline in passenger traffic in March, with numbers falling by more than half as a result of flight restrictions linked to the Iran-US conflict.
Passenger Numbers Plummet
Dubai International airport (DXB), which ranked as the second busiest airport globally in 2025 with 95.2 million passengers, saw its traffic drop to just 2.5 million in March. This represents a 65.7% decrease year on year.
The decline followed the temporary suspension of flights in March after a fire broke out near the airport due to a “drone-related incident.” In the first quarter overall, DXB recorded 18.6 million passengers, down 20.6% compared to the same period in 2025.
Key Markets and Destinations
India remained Dubai’s largest country market in the first quarter, contributing 2.5 million passengers. Saudi Arabia followed with 1.3 million, the United Kingdom with 1.2 million, and Pakistan with 918,000. Among cities, London was the busiest destination with 752,000 passengers, ahead of Mumbai (520,000) and Jeddah (505,000).
CEO Comments on Recovery
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, described the situation as unprecedented for a major hub like DXB. “Our focus has been on keeping operations safe and consistent for our customers through close coordination and rapid decision-making across the entire airport community and beyond, while ensuring the system remains ready to respond swiftly as conditions improve,” he stated.
Since 28 February, the airport has maintained operations under constantly changing conditions, supporting six million passengers, more than 32,000 aircraft, and 213 tonnes of cargo as of 30 April.
Recovery Phase Begins
Following the UAE’s lifting of airspace restrictions, Dubai Airports is entering a recovery phase. The plan involves increasing daily flights and enabling airlines to restore schedules as much as neighbouring airspaces allow. Griffiths emphasised the critical role of DXB in global travel, noting that international transfer traffic through the Middle East accounts for 22.4 million annual passenger journeys through the airport, representing one-third of the region’s hub transfer traffic.
Last year was DXB’s busiest on record, and the airport had targeted 99.5 million passengers for 2026. In comparison, the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in the US, handled over 106 million passengers last year.
