Dubai International Airport on track to beat pre-Covid passenger figures

Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport this year will eclipse the pre-pandemic passenger figures in 2019, showing the strong rebound in travel after the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns that grounded aircraft worldwide, a top official said Wednesday.

The airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and home of the long-haul carrier Emirates, has had 64.5 million passengers pass through its cavernous concourses through the third quarter of this year. That puts it on track to reach 86.8 million passengers for the full year, which would exceed its 2019 figure of 86.3 million passengers. It had 66 million passengers last year.