Dubai Airport Traffic Falls 66% in March 2026

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international passengers, saw traffic plummet by 66 percent in March 2026 to 2.5 million travelers, as regional airspace disruptions from the Middle East conflict severely limited flights, according to a statement from Dubai Airports.

The decline dragged first-quarter passenger numbers down 21 percent year-on-year to 18.6 million, reflecting constraints that began on February 28 and peaked through March. Officials attributed the drop to Iran's retaliatory drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates following U.S. and Israeli strikes, which targeted Dubai International several times and forced widespread airspace closures. Quarterly cargo volumes fell 23 percent to 399,600 tonnes, while aircraft movements declined 21 percent to 88,000.

Despite the challenges, the airport sustained operations, handling more than 6 million passengers, 32,000 aircraft movements, and 213,000 tonnes of cargo from late February through April 30. India remained the top market with 2.5 million passengers in the first quarter, followed by Saudi Arabia at 1.3 million, the United Kingdom at 1.2 million, and Pakistan at 918,000. London led destination cities...