Dubai Airport reported a nearly one-third drop in passenger traffic due to the war

In the first half of 2026, passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport (DXB) fell by nearly a third year-over-year, according to a press release from the airport itself. This trend was driven by the war in the Middle East, which disrupted transportation links throughout the region, according to Bloomberg. Although hostilities have not formally ended, the world’s largest international aviation hub expects demand for flights from Dubai to increase in the second half of the year.

In the second quarter of 2026, Dubai International Airport handled 13 million passengers, and for the first half of the year, the total number of passengers was 31.5 million. This is 31.3% less than the record passenger traffic a year earlier, although traffic had already begun to recover in May and June.

In light of this—"following one of the most challenging operational situations in DXB’s history"—airport management is optimistic about the second half of the year, which is typically a busier season, according to the press release. Airport representatives attributed this outlook to the restoration of airline networks, growth in international transit traffic, the easing of foreign governments’ travel advisories regarding tourism to the Middle East, and upcoming events in Dubai.

In May, Dubai Airport had already announced that it was postponing its goal of reaching 100 million annual passengers by one year—due to a sharp drop in demand amid the war. Due to the conflict in the region, the airport has repeatedly faced operational disruptions and—at the start of the war in March—attacks by Iranian drones. The region’s largest carriers—Emirates and flydubai, which account for a significant portion of DXB’s passenger traffic—were forced to scale back operations as a result and have not yet been able to restore full capacity. Over the past two months, Dubai’s national carrier has been forced to cancel thousands of flights, restructuring its international network and operating nearly empty flights to its hub in the emirate—as travelers continue to largely avoid the Gulf states, according to Bloomberg.

Nevertheless, according to a press release from the airport, by the end of the first half of the year, DXB was served by nearly 50 international airlines, providing connections to 217 destinations in 99 countries.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor