Prior to big hubs like London Heathrow, Istanbul Airport, and Singapore’s Changi Airport, Dubai International (DXB) continued to hold the top rank as the busiest airport for international flights in January. According to the monthly rankings for the “World’s Busiest Airport” published by aviation consulting firm OAG, Dubai will continue to be the busiest airport for international flights in January 2023 with 4.6 million seats, an increase of 1% over the previous month (December 2022). Utilizing airline international seat availability and flight frequency data from January 2023, OAG calculated their figures.
For several months running, DXB has held onto the title of busiest international airport without fail. 3.5 million seats put London Heathrow in second position. The top two airports were Dubai and London Heathrow, according to the survey. Seven of the top ten busiest international airports in January 2023 were also in the top ten in that month last year. Singapore Changi Airport (up from 11th to 4th), Incheon Airport (up from 46th to 7th), and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport all saw their rankings improve, putting them in the top 10. (from 45th to 10th). When local and international airline capacity is taken into account, DXB has maintained its ranking as the second busiest “global airport,” according to OAG. Dubai recorded almost 23.7 million arrivals in 2022, up 89% from 2021, according to data sets released by the Dubai Media Office.
On New Year’s Eve, the emirate saw over 107,082 passengers arrive, with 95,445 coming through Dubai airports. Due to a strong recovery in 2022, the average daily passenger numbers at the international hub have almost returned to pre-pandemic levels. January was particularly busy at DXB due to a variety of reasons, including the seasonal increase in visitors, the return of Chinese tourists to the UAE, and Dubai’s growing popularity as a preferred destination in recent years, according to Gulf News.
