Airportman.id – Dubai International Airport (DXB) still holds the world's busiest airport title in 2021 for the eighth year in a row. 29,110,609 passengers were served throughout 2021, or a 12.7% growth compared to 2020. This number was driven by the number of passengers in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2021, which was recorded at 11,794,046 passengers or 77% higher than the previous quarter.

CEO of Dubai Airport, Paul Griffiths, explained that despite uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was an important year and a milestone for DXB, including DXB hosting Dubai Airshow 2021, the world's first major air shows since the start of the pandemic. In addition, DXB had also opened operational capacity to 100% with the reopening of Terminal 1 - Concourse A and Concourse D. DXB had also opened the world's largest in-house airport laboratory for fast-track processing Covid-19 PCR test samples for Dubai visitors. Dubai Airport also welcomed a record number of new airlines connecting Dubai to new destinations and joined the rest of the city in creating a warm welcome for the millions of visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Despite unprecedented turmoil affecting millions of people all over the world, we overcame many serious obstacles to the operation of the world’s largest international hub and provided smooth, comfortable and safe travel for millions of people travelling through DXB. This incredible performance by all of our staff and stakeholders was achieved in the face of abruptly changing travel regulations and concerns about new waves of infection. Despite these serious challenges to our ongoing success, we managed to exceed our own forecasts and continue to retain our crown as the world’s busiest international airport.” said Griffiths.

“With the eagerly anticipated reopening of key markets such as Australasia and the further easing of travel regulations around the world, the outlook for 2022 is very promising and we are in an excellent position to continue to lead the world’s air travel sector on the road to recovery.”

Current forecasts indicate that DXB passenger traffic is expected to reach 55.1 million passengers by the end of 2022 and could be exceeded if the current trend continues.