Gulf News: Dubai International (DXB) has rewritten the global aviation record books, welcoming 95.2 million travellers in 2025 – the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded by any airport, the world’s busiest hub announced Wednesday morning.

The figure, up 3.1 per cent from a year earlier, means the world’s busiest international hub is no longer talking about recovery or rebound. Record traffic has become routine.

Not one peak – a full year of them
What stood out in 2025 was consistency. DXB logged its busiest day, month, quarter and full year on record, operating close to its physical limits while maintaining smooth flows for travellers.

December became the busiest month in the airport’s history, with 8.7 million passengers, up 6.1 per cent year on year. The October-to-December period was also the strongest quarter ever, reaching 25.1 million, a rise of 5.9 per cent.

Aircraft activity rose in step. Flight movements hit 118,000 in the fourth quarter, taking the annual total to 454,800.

Despite more flights, aircraft were fuller, with an average of 214 passengers per movement. The yearly load factor stood at 77.6 per cent. The world’s busiest hub has raised its 2026 forecast to 99.5 million passengers, just 500,000 shy of the much-coveted 100 million mark.

Record traffic is now normal
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said the milestone shows how the hub has adapted to operating at extreme scale.

“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,” said Griffiths.

“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.”

He added: “We expect traffic to approach 99.5 million in 2026, supported by close coordination across the sector and the oneDXB community.”

Keeping the queues short
Handling big numbers is one thing; keeping the experience predictable is another.

DXB processed 86.75 million bags during the year, nearly 5 per cent more than in 2024. Almost nine in 10 arriving bags reached passengers within 45 minutes.

Passport control and security times also remained tight. Nearly all departing travellers cleared passport checks in under 10 minutes, while most arriving passengers waited less than 15 minutes. Security queues stayed under five minutes for the vast majority of flyers.

India leads as top market

India once again ranked as DXB’s largest country market, accounting for 11.9 million travellers.

Saudi Arabia followed with 7.5 million, the UK with 6.3 million, Pakistan with 4.3 million, and the United States with 3.3 million.

Some routes posted particularly strong growth. Traffic from China jumped 16.6 per cent, Egypt rose 14.3 per cent, and Italy increased 12.5 per cent.

London held onto its crown as the busiest city destination from DXB, with 3.9 million passengers, followed by Riyadh, Mumbai, Jeddah and New Delhi.

By year-end, the airport linked Dubai to 291 destinations in 110 countries,

Next stop: 100 million

With demand still climbing, attention is turning to how Dubai will keep growing while protecting the passenger experience.

Over time, Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) is expected to play a bigger role, giving the emirate the room it needs for the next phase of expansion in global travel.

For now, DXB continues to show that moving close to 100 million people a year is not a stress test. It is business as usual.