Dubai Airports scaling up after first-quarter traffic plunge

Dubai Airports said passenger traffic fell by almost two-thirds at the peak of the Iran conflict, but it expects a recovery as regional airspace reopens.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) handled 18.6 million passengers in the first quarter, down 20 percent from a year earlier, after Iran-linked attacks and airspace closures disrupted operations at the Gulf’s busiest aviation hub.

The sharpest impact came in March, when passenger numbers dropped to 2.5 million despite the Eid al-Fitr holiday, typically one of the busiest travel seasons.

Traffic declined as the airport, an east-west transit hub, was hit by a drone strike on February 28, the first day of the conflict, which injured four staff and forced a temporary suspension of operations. Subsequent attacks and airspace restrictions led to further disruption across the network.

Since hostilities began through to April 29, 21,585 scheduled flights took place from DXB, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, with a cancellation rate of 34 percent.

Cargo volumes reached 399,600 tonnes in Q1, down 23 percent year-on-year, with 66,000 tonnes handled in March. Aircraft movements totalled 88,000, a 21 percent drop compared to Q1 2025.

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With a ceasefire in place since April 8 between the US, Israel and Iran, capacity is gradually being restored.

Chief executive Paul Griffiths said the airport operator was taking action to ramp up activity.

“Dubai Airports is moving decisively to scale up operations, increasing flight movements in line with available regional routing capacity,” he said in a statement.

Speaking to Dubai Eye 103.8’s Business Breakfast radio show, Griffiths said operations at DXB cover 51 airlines that serve more than 192 cities, with efforts to reach 240 cities in the coming months.

This will be helped by the full reopening of airspace across the UAE at the start of May. The General Civil Aviation Authority said the decision was taken “after a comprehensive evaluation of operational security conditions and in coordination with relevant authorities”.