Traffic at Dubai Airport increased by 50% in the first half of the year, surpassing pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, the operator of this United Arab Emirates airport announced on Tuesday.
The international airport of the wealthy Gulf emirate is one of the world’s largest in terms of passengers, welcoming tourists, business people and travelers in transit. From January to June, it welcomed 41.6 million travelers, compared to 27.9 million over the same period last year.
Traffic in the first half exceeded pre-pandemic levels, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said. The authorities have revised their forecast upwards for the full year to 85 million passengers, compared to just over 66 million in 2022, and 86 million in 2019. “Dubai Airports is optimistic about the levels of demand and expects record numbers during the winter season,” the company said in a statement.
Dubai airport closed at the height of the pandemic, from March to July 2020, but it was one of the first to reopen. It welcomed 25.9 million passengers in 2020 and 29.1 million the following year.