The number of passengers flying through Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, surged last year beyond its total for 2019 — just before the coronavirus pandemic grounded global aviation.
While still shy of its all-time high in 2018, the figures for 2023 showed just how far the airport, known as DXB, has bounced back from the pandemic. The number of passengers passing through its cavernous, air-conditioned terminals that are home to the long-haul carrier Emirates in Dubai, has served as a barometer for the aviation industry worldwide and the wider economic health of this city-state.
Overall, in 2023, the airport had 86.9 million passengers. Its 2019’s annual traffic was 86.3 million passengers. The airport had 89.1 million passengers in 2018 — its busiest-ever year before the pandemic, while 66 million passengers passed through in 2022.
“I think our performance post-pandemic has been quite exceptional and…
