Dubai International Airport (DXB), one of the busiest in the world, dropped 31.3% in passenger numbers during the first half of the year due to the geopolitical situation resulting from the Middle East conflict.
© Reuters
26/08/2026
by
Lusa
Dand according to the information released today by Dubai Airport infrastructure, the airport “received 31.5 million passengers during the first semester”, which represents a 31.3% decrease compared to the same period of 2025, when it recorded the best historical result in terms of passengers.
Nevertheless, traffic grew steadily during the second quarter, accumulating 13 million passengers, with a monthly flow rising from 3.5 million passengers in April to 4.5 million in May, reaching five million in June.
In March, traffic stood at 2.5 million, representing a decrease of 65.7% compared to the same month of the previous year.
Dubai Airports also pointed out that the number of aircraft movements in the first half reached 150,600, a 32.1% decrease from the same period of 2025.
According to the airport infrastructure, despite the unstable geopolitical situation there was a “gradual return of international airlines and an improvement in high occupancy rates, which indicates a strong demand and an even greater increase as DXB enters the second half of the year”.
Last week, the Lufthansa group’s airline, Eurowings, reported that it will fly back to Dubai from the end of October after suspending flights in late February.
In contrast, Finnair cancelled all flights to Dubai during the winter season.
The airport was obliged to suspend activities on several occasions, as were other airports in the region, due to the war initiated by the US and Israel against Iran on 28 February.