DUBAI: Dubai airport’s passenger traffic plunged by two-thirds in March following Iran’s attacks on the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East war, the emirate’s media office said in a statement on Monday, AFP reported.
Traveller numbers at Dubai International, usually the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, sank to 2.5 million, down 66 per cent year-on-year (YoY), Dubai Media Office said.The airport endured “a period of regional disruption that significantly constrained airspace capacity and flight schedules”, it said.
“With airspace within the UAE now fully restored, Dubai Airports is moving decisively to scale up operations, increasing flight movements in line with available regional routing capacity.”Dubai International was targeted several times by drones as the oil-rich UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.
Quarterly traffic was down 21 per cent to 18.6 million in the first quarter of 2026. Dubai International handled a record 95.2 million passengers last year, and had been expecting to receive 99.5 million this year.
“The extraordinary events of the past few weeks are unprecedented for any major airport hub,” Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths was quoted as saying in the statement.
Dubai Airports scaling up operations as UAE airspace restored, CEO saysDubai Airports’ operations and flights are being ramped up now that United Arab Emirates airspace is fully clear, with capacity increasing in line with available routing, CEO Paul Griffiths said on Monday, according to Reuters.
UAE’s aviation authority said on Saturday that air traffic had returned to normal after precautionary measures introduced on February 28, at the start of the Iran war, were lifted.“Demand for travel through Dubai remains strong, and DXB is well positioned to progressively increase capacity and support airlines and guests through a period of continued adjustment,” Griffiths added.
Before the war broke out and Gulf airspace closures disrupted traffic for nearly two months, DXB was expected to handle close to 100 million passengers this year, its operator said on February 11.
