Dubai’s ruler called the airport—the world’s busiest for international traffic in 2025 and home to over 95 million passengers last year—the “lifeblood of Dubai.”
Dubai Airports announced that Dubai International (DXB) welcomed 95.2 million passengers in 2025, a 3.1% increase year-on-year, marking the busiest year in the airport’s history and the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded at any airport.
Notably, 2025 was characterised not by a single peak, but by sustained record-level performance throughout the year.
Dubai International Airport Becomes World’s Busiest for International Traffic in 2025
Dubai: Dubai International Airport (DXB) welcomed 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1% year-on-year, marking the busiest year in the airport’s history and the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded at any airport.
DXB achieved its busiest day, month, quarter, and year on record, operating at the edge of its physical capacity while maintaining world-class operational performance. What would represent extraordinary strain elsewhere has become part of DXB’s normal operating rhythm.
December closed as the busiest month in DXB history, with 8.7 million passengers (+6.1% year-on-year), while the fourth quarter recorded 25.1 million passengers (+5.9% compared to Q4 2024). Total flight movements reached 118,000 in Q4, up 5%, bringing the annual total to 454,800 movements, a 3.3% increase year-on-year. Despite growth in flights, average passengers per movement remained at 214, reflecting the use of larger aircraft and high load efficiency. The annual load factor stood at 77.6%, a marginal increase of 0.5 percentage points.
Consistency at Scale
DXB handled 86.75 million bags in 2025, a 4.95% year-on-year increase, marking the highest baggage volume ever in a calendar year. 89% of arriving baggage was delivered to passengers within 45 minutes of aircraft arrival. DXB’s mishandled baggage rate remained exceptionally low at 99.75% accuracy, or 2.47 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.
Passenger processing times remained efficient:
- 99.35% of departing passengers cleared passport control in under 10 minutes
- 98.8% of arriving passengers cleared passport control in under 15 minutes
- 98.9% of passengers passed security checks in under 5 minutes
‘Lifeblood of Dubai
Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum called DXB the “lifeblood of Dubai”, praising it as a “school in the quality of handling and services.” He highlighted passenger traffic and wait-time statistics and expressed pride in the team, led by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, for decades of professionalism.
Global Connectivity
India remained DXB’s largest country market with 11.9 million passengers, followed by:
- Saudi Arabia: 7.5 million
- United Kingdom: 6.3 million
- Pakistan: 4.3 million
- United States: 3.3 million
Several markets recorded strong growth in 2025:
- China: +16.6% to 2.5 million
- Russia: +6% to 2.8 million
- Turkey: +6.7% to 2.2 million
- Egypt: +14.3% to 1.8 million
- Italy: +12.5% to 1.6 million
Top city destinations were:
- London: 3.9 million
- Riyadh: 3 million
- Mumbai & Jeddah: 2.4 million each
- New Delhi: 2.2 million
By the end of 2025, DXB was connected to 291 destinations across 110 countries, served by 108 international airlines, solidifying its position as one of the most globally connected hubs in the world.
Looking Ahead
Paul Griffiths
CEO of Dubai Airports, said:
“Airports are often defined by moments of intensity, but long-term performance is defined by how well those moments are sustained. In 2025, DXB showed that record traffic is no longer an exception, but part of its operating reality. That consistency at scale reflects the maturity of the system and the strength of collaboration across our oneDXB airport community to deliver excellence under growing demand. We expect traffic to approach 99.5 million in 2026, supported by close coordination across the sector and the oneDXB community.”
