Dubai International Airport maintained its position as the world's busiest airport for international passengers in 2025 for the 12th consecutive year. The airport continued to record strong growth in international travel throughout the past year compared to its counterparts on the list of the world's largest airports, according to the annual report by the Airports Council International. Dubai International Airport welcomed 95.2 million passengers in 2025, a 3.1% increase from the previous year, making it the busiest year in the airport's history. The council, in its report obtained by 'Emirates Today', highlighted the strong and significant recovery of Dubai International Airport's performance in 2025 compared to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019, noting that the growth rate in passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport last year reached 10.2% compared to 2019 levels. The annual report, which tracks the performance of the world's largest airports, showed that Dubai International Airport ranked first in terms of international passengers with a significant lead of about 15.5 million passengers over London Heathrow, which ranked second after handling 79.8 million passengers in 2025. Incheon Airport in South Korea followed with approximately 73.5 million passengers. Singapore and Amsterdam airports ranked fourth and fifth with about 69.4 and 67.8 million passengers, respectively. In terms of total passenger traffic (international and domestic), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained its top spot, followed by Dubai International Airport, which continued to narrow the gap. Dubai International recorded a 3.1% growth rate, while its American counterpart saw a 1.6% decline, handling 106 million passengers. Tokyo Airport ranked third with 91.6 million passengers, followed by Dallas/Fort Worth and Shanghai airports with 85.6 and 84.9 million passengers, respectively.
