DXB ranked second-busiest airport in...

London Heathrow takes top spot for most seats

Dubai International (DXB) was the second-busiest international airport by seats in June, according to a newly-released ranking compiled by global travel data provider OAG.

DXB welcomed 3.21 million seats in June, compared to 3.3 million in the previous month, with London’s Heathrow airport the busiest with 3.42 million seats.

The slight month-on-month decrease was primarily due to the diversion of several flights to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) for a 45-day period while DXB’s northern runway underwent scheduled refurbishment.

The top five airports also included major European travel hubs in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, while Istanbul, Doha, Gatwick, Madrid and Singapore’s Changi airport completed the list of June’s top 10 busiest airports.

Signalling a return to normality, a statement released by OAG said: “Out of the top 10 busiest international airports in June 2022, seven were in the top 10 in June 2019 as well.”

In terms of June’s busiest international routes, New York JFK to London Heathrow moved up to the top spot, followed by Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and Cairo-Jeddah in third. Three Dubai routes were included in the top 10 with Dubai to Riyadh (235,700 seats) ranked fifth place, Mumbai to Dubai (200,573) in sixth place and Dubai to London Heathrow (199,200) ranked seventh.

Following the closures of certain concourses in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, Dubai International has been fully operational since December 2021 and is forecasting a passenger turnout of 58.3 million this year after a sharp increase in traffic in recent weeks.

Despite high oil prices, UAE’s airlines could become profitable well ahead of some of their industry peers as they benefit from pent-up travel demand.

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The airport’s northern runway underwent a 45-day overhaul from 9 May to 22 June 22 and was completed in time for the peak travel season.

A total of 13.6 million travellers passing through DXB in the first quarter of 2022.

For more information, visit www.oag.com and www.dubaiairports.ae