Dubai International Airport handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025
Dubai (AP): Dubai International Airport maintained its crown as the world's busiest airport last year as officials said Wednesday that a record 95.2 million passengers transited through its terminals, part of the emirate's continued economic boom.
The airport took off in the post-pandemic years, spurred by worldwide interest in travel and by ever-increasing tourism, business and real estate opportunities in the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai on Monday reported a 5% increase in tourists last year, to 19.6 million, a third consecutive year of record-breaking figures.
The state-owned airport is home to the long-haul carrier Emirates, which powers the network of state-owned and state-linked businesses in the emirate known as “Dubai Inc.”
Dubai International showed in 2025 "that record traffic is no longer an exception, but part of its operating reality,” said Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports.
Dubai airport saw 92.3 million passengers in 2024, compared with 86.9 million passengers in the previous year. In 2019, just before the pandemic fully disrupted air travel, traffic was 86.3 million passengers. It had 89.1 million passengers in 2018.
India remained the top destination for people flying out of Dubai International last year, with 11.9 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 7.5 million and the United Kingdom at 6.3 million. The facility served 108 airlines flying to 291 cities in 110 countries.
A real-estate boom and the city's highest-ever tourism numbers have made Dubai a destination as well as a layover. However, the city is now grappling with increasing traffic and costs that are pressuring both its Emirati citizens and the foreign residents who power its economy.
Dubai plans to move its airport operations to Al Maktoum International Airport, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) away. Al Maktoum, which opened in 2010 with one terminal, served as a parking lot for Emirates' double-decker Airbus A380s and other aircraft during the pandemic, but it has since returned to life with cargo, commercial and private flights. It also hosts the biennial Dubai Air Show and has a vast desert in which to expand.
Authorities plan to move operations in 2032 to the city-state's second airport after a roughly $35 billion upgrade.
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French President Macron concludes Mumbai visit
Mumbai (PTI): French President Emmanuel Macron, along with First Lady Brigitte Macron, left Mumbai for New Delhi on Wednesday after concluding his engagements here, including bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They were seen off at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
On Tuesday, Macron held discussions with Modi as part of efforts to further strengthen India-France strategic ties.
During the Mumbai visit, the French president and his wife also met some of India's top filmmakers and actors, and had an animated exchange with them about cinema, culture and collaboration.
President Macron is on an official visit to India from February 17 to 19 at the invitation of PM Modi to participate in the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in the national capital Delhi, besides the bilateral summit in Mumbai.
PM Modi will inaugurate the summit on February 19. As many as 20 heads of states, including French President Macron, will be present at the inaugural session, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said.
