Dubai Airport sets record with 24.2 million passengers over the summer

Dubai: The world’s busiest hub, Dubai International Airport (DXB), has recorded the busiest quarter in its 65-year history with 24.2 million passengers between July and September 2025, marking a 1.9 per cent year-on-year increase.

This surge helped push total traffic for the first nine months of 2025 to a record 70.1 million passengers, up 2.1 per cent compared to the previous year.

In response, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “These record-breaking results reflect the continued strength of Dubai’s aviation and tourism sectors, and to the collective efforts of our oneDXB airport community.”

He added that the growth also highlights the importance of the next phase of development with Dubai World Central (DWC), heralding “a future ready, smart global aviation hub”.

Strong performance

DXB maintained strong operational performance throughout Q3, handling 115,000 flights and achieving an average of 213 passengers per aircraft.

Security and passenger processing times stayed impressively low, with 99.6 per cent of departing passengers clearing passport control in under 10 minutes and security screening times under 5 minutes for 99.7 per cent of travellers.

The airport handled 63.8 million pieces of baggage in the first nine months of 2025, improving mishandled baggage accuracy to 99.9 per cent, meaning only two bags per 1,000 passengers were mishandled.

What’s next for DXB?

Dubai Airports is investing in upgrading passenger experiences across terminals. New spaces like CB Central in Terminal 3 will showcase premium brands, while family-friendly and casual dining areas are planned for other terminals.

Meanwhile, Dubai World Central (DWC) aims to be the main international gateway by the early 2030s, with an ambitious plan to handle up to 260 million passengers annually and set new standards for efficiency and sustainability.​

Travellers can look forward to CB East – a family-friendly space with mainstream eateries and entertainment areas for all age groups, and CB West – the new centre of DXB providing premium shopping experiences for passengers. Within T1, CD Central – the space located in the middle of Concourse D, will offer panoramic views of the airfield, refreshed dwell areas, innovative passenger information and easy access to major retail stores.

Key source markets

India remained DXB’s top country market, accounting for 8.8 million passengers in the first nine months of 2025, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK.

London led city destinations with 2.8 million guests, reinforcing Dubai’s strong international connectivity.