Dubai sees travelers top pre-pandemic mark

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai International Airport passenger numbers surpassed pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022, the airport’s chief executive said, causing the airport to revise its annual forecast by another 1 million passengers.

Paul Griffiths, who oversees the world’s busiest airport, said the annual forecast at Dubai International, or DXB, is more than 64 million. The airport saw 18.5 million passengers in the third quarter of this year, up from 17.8 million during the first quarter of 2020 — prior to and at the start of the pandemic.

Most of the growth, Griffith said, comes from the traditional markets of India, the U.K., Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He added that the end of COVID-19 testing requirements and people’s eagerness to travel have contributed to the increase.

“Recovery is very much on the agenda and has been a phenomenon here ever since the end of the pandemic,” Griffiths said.

The new numbers are welcome news for the tourism-driven economy of Dubai, which accounts for about 12% of the tiny nation’s GDP. A year ago in the third quarter, 6.7 million came through the airport.

Still the figure is nowhere near the pre-pandemic milestone of 86.4 million in annual traffic logged by the airport in 2019.

The 46 million passengers who traveled through DXB in the first nine months of this year represent 72% of the airport’s pre-pandemic levels.

The largest share of traffic to Dubai came from India, with 6.8 million travelers, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 3.4 million travelers this year. A key growth market for travel to and from Dubai is Pakistan and the United States.

The United Arab Emirates is home to more than 100,000 British citizens. Dubai’s main airport logged 3.2 million passengers from the U.K. up to September this year, making it the third-largest share of traffic numbers.

Around 60% of Dubai’s airport traveler figures this year represent arrivals, with the rest transiting through.