DXB Targets About 70 Million Passengers in 2026, Says Griffiths

Dubai International (DXB) expects to handle about 70 million passengers in 2026 as traffic recovers. The airport is on course to reach 100 million a year by the end of 2027, according to Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths.

Griffiths gave the forecast on 11 September at a briefing for international media hosted by the Government of Dubai Media Office.

A fast rebound

DXB handled 31.5 million passengers in the first half of 2026. Traffic then grew month by month. The airport handled 5 million passengers in June and 6.3 million in July, a rise of 26 per cent in one month.

Griffiths called the rebound a “trampoline bounce”. He said it could take traffic higher than before.

The recovery is not complete. Airline capacity at DXB is back to 84 per cent of earlier levels, and passenger numbers are at 78 per cent. Some airlines have not yet returned. Griffiths said he expects most of them back by the start of the winter season, which should add more growth.

A full-year total of about 70 million would still be well below DXB’s record. In 2024 the airport handled 92.3 million passengers, the most in its history. Griffiths said the balance between transfer passengers and those starting or ending their journey in Dubai is still roughly even.

Al Maktoum International: the next phase

The second half of the briefing covered Al Maktoum International (DWC), Dubai’s much larger second airport. Griffiths said the plans are going “full speed ahead”:

• Second runway: due to open by the end of 2027. This is the next major milestone.
• First phase: due in the early 2030s, with room for 150 million passengers a year. That is well above DXB’s maximum of about 115 million.
• Full build-out: up to 260 million passengers a year, with five runways. Four will be in regular use and one kept on standby.

Two runways will support the first 150-million phase. DWC is being designed as eight separate sections, each able to handle about 32 million passengers, so capacity can be added as demand grows.

How the move from DXB will work

Airlines will move from DXB to DWC in stages as space becomes available. Griffiths said flydubai could move five or six aircraft to DWC as early as next year. The full move would take several months, and DXB operations would transfer completely once DWC’s first 150-million-passenger phase is ready.

Dubai Airports also wants to change how passengers move through the new airport. Griffiths said traditional check-in could largely disappear. Passengers would drop their bags and pass through using facial recognition. He compared the experience to walking into a hotel lobby. The airport is also looking at links with Dubai’s public transport network.

Regional picture

The outlook comes as other Gulf hubs add capacity for the winter season. Qatar Airways has said it will serve more than 170 destinations from Doha this winter.