Source : WAM
Dubai Airports has announced that Dubai International (DXB) welcomed 95.2 million guests in 2025, a 3.1 percent increase year on year. This marks the busiest year in the airport’s history and the highest annual international passenger traffic ever recorded by any airport worldwide.
More notably, 2025 was characterised not by a single spike in activity, but by sustained record-level performance. DXB registered its busiest day, month, quarter and full year on record, operating close to its physical capacity while consistently maintaining high standards of operational excellence. Levels of traffic that might strain other airports have become part of DXB’s regular operating pattern.
December stood out as the busiest month in the airport’s history, with 8.7 million guests, reflecting a 6.1 percent year-on-year increase. The fourth quarter was also the strongest ever, handling 25.1 million guests, up 5.9 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
Flight movements totalled 118,000 during Q4, a 5 percent rise, bringing the annual figure to 454,800 movements, up 3.3 percent year on year.
Despite the increase in movements, the average number of passengers per flight remained robust at 214, indicating continued use of larger aircraft and strong load efficiency. The annual load factor reached 77.6 percent, a slight adjustment of 0.5 percentage points.
Rather than reflecting isolated peaks, 2025 demonstrated DXB’s capacity to sustain high performance throughout the year while delivering an enhanced guest experience. This was achieved through careful planning and close coordination across the oneDXB community, which includes airlines, service partners and government entities.
In terms of baggage handling, DXB processed 86.75 million bags in 2025, representing a 4.95 percent year-on-year increase and the highest annual baggage volume ever handled by the airport.
Reinforcing its commitment to operational excellence, 89 percent of arriving baggage for guests ending their journey at DXB was delivered within 45 minutes of the aircraft reaching the stand. The airport also maintained a world-class mishandled baggage rate of 99.75 percent efficiency, equivalent to 2.47 mishandled bags per 1,000 guests.
Guest processing times remained stable despite the high volumes. At departure passport control, 99.35 percent of guests waited less than 10 minutes, while 98.8 percent of arriving passengers completed passport control in under 15 minutes. Security screening was completed within five minutes for 98.9 percent of guests.
India continued as DXB’s largest country market with 11.9 million guests, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 7.5 million, the United Kingdom with 6.3 million, Pakistan with 4.3 million, and the United States with 3.3 million.
Several markets recorded strong growth during the year. Traffic from China rose 16.6 percent to 2.5 million guests, Russia increased 6 percent to 2.8 million, Turkey grew 6.7 percent to 2.2 million, Egypt expanded 14.3 percent to 1.8 million, and Italy climbed 12.5 percent to 1.6 million.
London remained DXB’s busiest city destination with 3.9 million guests, followed by Riyadh with 3 million, Mumbai and Jeddah with 2.4 million each, and New Delhi with 2.2 million.
By the end of 2025, DXB was connected to 291 destinations across 110 countries and served by 108 international airlines, further strengthening its position as one of the world’s most globally connected aviation hubs.
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.”
