It kicked out London Heathrow from the top spot, with the UK airport plummeting to seventh place at capacity of 747,420…reports Asian Lite News
Dubai International Airport (DXB) has been named the world’s busiest international airport in May, as travelers gradually return to the skies.
The airport’s scheduled capacity was 1,895,866 in May, according to aviation intelligence firm OAG, despite many of its source markets being closed to international travelers.
It kicked out London Heathrow from the top spot, with the UK airport plummeting to seventh place at capacity of 747,420.
Two other regional airports dominated the list, with Istanbul Ataturk coming in second at around 1.3 million capacity, followed by Doha International Airport at 1.24 million.
The rankings are based on scheduled capacity compared to the same month in 2019, pre-pandemic.
Four Middle East air routes were the busiest in May, according to OAG data, three of which connect Cairo to Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai.
Within Saudi Arabia, the Jeddah-Riyadh route was one of the busiest in May with 547,936 capacity.
Last year, DXB handled 25.9 million passengers, despite the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc in the aviation industry, forcing airports to shut down and grounding airlines across the globe.
The travel restrictions and suspension of flights from certain countries also impacted airports and airlines.
The new variants of Covid-19 also continue to batter the sector with travel bans on passengers from the worst-hit countries.
But governments are increasingly reopening their borders with those countries that have largely vaccinated their citizens.
Data from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority showed international passenger traffic reaching 7.61 million during the first four months of 2021, including 1.87 million during the month of April.
The numbers are significantly higher when compared with last year’s April figures of 39,794 passengers, when international flights from Dubai airports were suspended after the Covid-19 outbreak.
OAG data showed Turkey’s Istanbul International Airport emerged as the second busiest airport with 1.3 million seats, followed by Doha Airport at 1.22 million, and Amsterdam Airport at one million.
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