RIYADH: Dubai International Airport, or DXB, handled 18.6 million passengers in the first quarter of 2026, as regional airspace disruptions weighed on traffic across the Middle East’s key transit hubs.
The figure represents a 20.6 percent decline from a year earlier, according to a release from Dubai Airports, with March traffic particularly affected at 2.5 million passengers, down 65.7 percent year on year.
The downturn reflects broader turmoil across the aviation sector, with Middle Eastern hubs, which handle a significant share of global transfer traffic, facing severe operational constraints.
Despite the disruption, the airport maintained operations, facilitating the movement of about 6 million passengers, more than 32,000 flights and 213,000 tonnes of cargo between late February and April 30.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “The extraordinary events of the past few weeks are unprecedented for any major airport hub such as DXB.”
He noted that international transfer traffic through the Middle East accounts for a significant share of the global air travel market, with 22.4 million annual passenger journeys flowing through DXB, representing one-third of transfer traffic across the region’s hubs.
“Maintaining the smooth operation of DXB is therefore critical to keep global journeys moving,” Griffiths said, adding that the focus has been on keeping operations safe and consistent for customers through close coordination and rapid decision-making.
India remained the largest source market for Dubai International Airport with 2.5 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia at 1.3 million, the UK at 1.2 million, and Pakistan at 918,000.
Among city routes, London ranked first with 752,000 travelers, followed by Mumbai with 520,000 and Jeddah with 505,000.
Cargo volumes totaled 399,600 tonnes in the first three months of the year, marking a 22.7 percent year-on-year decline, with 66,000 tonnes handled in March, while aircraft movements fell 20.8 percent to 88,000.
The airport processed 17.6 million bags during the period, including 2.6 million in March, with a mishandled baggage rate of 3.5 per 1,000 passengers, up from 1.95 a year earlier but still below the global average of around 6.3 per 1,000 passengers.
