Heathrow beat Dubai International to retain its position as the world’s biggest airport for international traffic in the first half of this year. But Heathrow beated Dubai by fewer than 3,000 passengers per day, equivalent to just 12 flights while the figures suggest that Dubai International is on track to become the world’s busiest international airport by early next year, if not sooner.
“It can be expected Dubai will power ahead, having earned the right to the title of world’s leading airport,” said Peter Morris, the chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy, an aviation firm. “Dubai has integrated a global travel and tourism product between airport and airlines, and created conditions for growth to benefit from the double-digit traffic opportunities from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.”
Dubai International has had 34.6 million passengers pass through its gates since January, while Heathrow had 35.1 million.
