Dubai International Airport has topped the list of the world's busiest airports for international and domestic flights for the second consecutive month. In the current month of December, Dubai International Airport handled approximately 5.5 million scheduled seats on international flights (11 million in both directions), thus leading the world's airports and setting a new record, according to the periodic report issued by the international OAG organization, which provides airport and airline data. The data, obtained by 'Emirates Today', showed that Dubai Airport remained the world's busiest airport in December 2025, with a 4% increase in seat capacity compared to the same month last year. Dubai International Airport continued to achieve strong gains compared to last year's levels, as the airport's seat capacity has been increasing continuously since the beginning of this year, reaching a record level during the peak of the summer season and a record high in the current December. This increase in seat capacity at Dubai International Airport comes as airlines continue to ramp up their operations in line with peak demand in December, coinciding with the holiday and vacation season, following a strong performance in international traffic throughout 2024 and the first nine months of this year. Dubai International Airport's seat capacity exceeded the five million mark in all months since the beginning of the year except for February, when the airport recorded 5.3 million seats in January and 4.78 million in February. The number rose to 5.16 million in March, 5.0 million in April, 5.2 million in May, 5.1 million in June, 5.28 million in July, 5.34 million in August, 5.1 million in September, 5.35 million in October, 5.3 million in November, and finally 5.5 million in December. According to the international organization's data, Dubai International Airport recorded approximately 62.4 million seats (about 124.8 million in both directions) throughout the year 2025. In the overall indicator (international and domestic flights), Dubai International Airport topped the list of the world's airports, with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States ranking second with 5.2 million seats, followed by Tokyo Haneda with 4.6 million, Guangzhou Baiyun with 4.4 million, and London Heathrow with 4.3 million. In the international flights-only indicator, Dubai Airport ranked first, followed by London Heathrow with 4.0 million, Singapore with 3.74 million, Seoul with 3.7 million, and Hong Kong with 3.5 million. According to the latest data released by Dubai Airports, Dubai International Airport broke its all-time quarterly passenger traffic records during the third quarter of 2025, handling 24.2 million passengers between July and September, a growth of 1.9% compared to the previous year. This exceptional performance in the third quarter contributed to raising the total number of passengers in the first nine months to 70.1 million, an increase of 2.1% over the same period last year, while passenger traffic over the twelve months ending in September reached a record 93.8 million passengers.
