- February 21, 2019
- Posted by: Waqas Siddiqui
- Categories: Business & Economy, Hospitality & Tourism, Insights

Dubai Named World’s Busiest Airport For Fifth Consecutive Year
Dubai – For the fifth consecutive year, Dubai retains the top global spot for being the busiest airport for international travellers globally, which it took over from the Heathrow Airport (London) in 2014. In 2018, Dubai Airport handled 89.1 million passengers (who departed or transited through) with a slight increase of 1 per cent compared to previous year. In comparison, London’s Heathrow airport handled 80 million passengers in 2018. Dubai Airport also reached another landmark figure of handling 1 billion passengers in December 2018, since its inception 58 years ago.
Dubai retains the top global position for being the busiest airport aimed at international travelers for the fifth consecutive year, ever since it over took the Heathrow Airport (London) in 2014. In 2018, Dubai Airport handled 89 million passengers (who departed or transited through) with a slight increase of 1 per cent compared to previous year. In comparison, London’s Heathrow airport handled 80 million passengers in 2018. Dubai Airport also reached another landmark figure in December 2018 by handling a cumulative passenger’s count of 1 billion, since its inception 58 years ago.
India was one of the major contributors toward the growth of international passengers at Dubai Airport with estimated figures in excess of 12.2 million, followed by passengers from Saudi Arabia (6.4 million) and United Kingdom (6.2 million) respectively. Likewise, there has been a significant increase in international passengers from China (3.5 million) and Russia (1.5 million) to Dubai with near around increase of 6 and 14.5 per cent from the previous year.
The inflow of Chinese and Russian passengers to Dubai also indicates the growth of business and tourism activities in UAE. Chinese and Russian investors in particular are keen to enter Gulf market to capitalize from business opportunities that the region presents. UAE’s position was further strengthened as it was recently rated 11th among 190 countries in Ease of Doing Business Index in 2018.
Moving on to tourism, Dubai welcomed 15.7 million visitors in 2018 and was the fourth most visited destination by tourists globally according to Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI). Likewise, Dubai Government is taking important steps to support local tourism in line with Dubai 2022-2025 tourism strategy where it aims to attract 25 million visitors to Dubai. Paul Griffiths, the Chief Executive of Dubai Airports is optimistic about double-digit growth in 2019 aided by partnership agreements between Emirates and Fly Dubai.
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