UAE airports handle more than 1.13 billion passengers in ten years
Dubai handled more than 804 million passengers, accounting for 71.2% of total traffic
Dubai: The UAE's aviation sector handled more than 1.13 billion passengers and recorded over 6.16 million aircraft movements between 2016 and 2025, according to figures released by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.
The data showed passenger traffic climbed 26.1 per cent over the decade to 156.87 million travellers in 2025, while aircraft movements rose 21 per cent to 828,570 take-offs and landings.
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Compared with 2024, passenger numbers increased by 6.1 per cent, adding around nine million travellers, while aircraft movements grew by 7.4 per cent, with an additional 56,772 flights، Arabic daily Newspaper reported.
The sector also continued to outperform pre-pandemic levels. Compared with 2019, passenger traffic in 2025 was up 22.6 per cent, equivalent to nearly 29 million additional travellers, while aircraft movements increased 34.2 per cent, or more than 211,000 flights.
Dubai accounted for the largest share of passenger traffic during the decade, handling 804.6 million passengers, representing 71.2 per cent of the national total.
Abu Dhabi ranked second with 210.8 million passengers (18.7 per cent), followed by Sharjah with 110.1 million (9.7 per cent). The figures include arriving, departing and transit passengers, highlighting the UAE's position as a major global aviation hub.
Dubai also led aircraft movements, recording around four million flights, or 64.9 per cent of all aircraft movements across the UAE between 2016 and 2025. Abu Dhabi handled 1.28 million movements, followed by Sharjah with 827,170, while Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah accounted for smaller shares of national traffic.
