Dubai International Airport had 86.9 million passengers last year in a post-pandemic surge

The number of passengers flying through Dubai International Airport has surged in the last year beyond its total for 2019 — just before the coronavirus pandemic grounded global aviation. The airport is the world’s busiest for international travel, and its passenger numbers are a barometer for the aviation industry. Monday's figures show 2023 was still shy of the all-time high in 2018. But they show how much the airport has bounced back from the pandemic. The 2023 destinations for the airport's 86.9 million passengers were India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Russia was also a major market as Dubai is one of the few places open to Russians during its war on Ukraine.