Dubai airport passenger traffic drops 66% in March on Iran war

[DUBAI] Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest international hub, reported a 66 per cent drop in passenger numbers in March as the war in Iran disrupted air traffic across the Middle East.

The figures dragged down the airport’s first-quarter passenger traffic to 2.5 million, down 21 per cent from the same period last year, the airport said on Monday (May 4).

Dubai’s main airport, which had to shut down several times due to drone incidents in its vicinity, is looking at scaling up operations after the United Arab Emirates lifted restrictions on travel to the country. The company did not specify forecasts for the year but said that it remains underpinned by strong underlying demand.

The experience gained by recent challenges “will enable us to accommodate returning demand as capacity is restored, reinforcing DXB’s role as a leading global hub”, CEO Paul Griffiths said.

India continued to be the airport’s largest market with 2.5 million guests, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UK and Pakistan. London remained the hub’s busiest destination city with 752,000 travellers, followed by Mumbai and Jeddah.

Meanwhile, the development of the emirate’s Dubai World Central airport continues to progress. BLOOMBERG