Dubai named world’s busiest international airport in 2022 for ninth consecutive year

Dubai International Airport retained the title of the world’s busiest international hub for passengers in 2022 for the ninth year in a row, as longhaul travel demand surged, rankings by the Airports Council International show.

London, Amsterdam, Paris and Istanbul followed Dubai as the top-five busiest hubs by international air traffic, the trade association for airports – representing nearly 2,000 worldwide – said on Wednesday.

Dubai International Airport, which does not have a domestic market, more than doubled passenger traffic on the year to 66.1 million last year.

“While we continue to march forward cautiously amid multiple headwinds that could impact the speed and magnitude of global air traffic recovery, the latest rankings represent an important milestone in reaching pre-pandemic levels,” said ACI World’s director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira.

“The reopening of China, the second-largest aviation market after the US, is now expected to bring an overall gain, both domestically and for international travel.”

State-owned operator Dubai Airports projects that 78 million passengers will pass through the hub this year – as the UAE prepares to host major international events such as the Dubai Airshow and the UN’s Cop28 climate summit.

A recovery to pre-pandemic levels on a monthly basis could come by the end of this year or early 2024, if monthly passenger figures reach 7.5 million, Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, told The National in February.

Global airlines and airports, emerging from the two-year Covid-19 pandemic that shattered air travel demand, are now facing steep jet fuel bills and mounting pressure to reduce their carbon footprint as they ramp up operations.

Preliminary figures by ACI indicate that with the return of international travel, 2022 global passenger traffic reached close to 7 billion – up 53.5 per cent on 2021 – and 73.8 per cent of 2019 levels.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport again topped the rankings by overall passenger traffic last year, with a 23.8 per cent year-on-year increase to 93.7 million domestic and international travellers.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport followed Atlanta International Airport held the next three spots. Overall, Dubai was the world’s fifth busiest airport.