Dubai airport traffic drops 66% in March amid regional escalation 

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport fell 66% year-on-year in March to 2.5 million, following disruptions caused by Iran’s attacks during the Middle East conflict, according to a statement issued by the Dubai Media Office.

The airport, which is typically the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, faced reduced operations due to airspace restrictions and flight schedule disruptions during the conflict.

Dubai International was targeted multiple times by drones as the United Arab Emirates responded to the broader regional escalation linked to US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The impact extended to the first quarter of 2026, with total passenger traffic declining 21% to 18.6 million.

Officials said UAE airspace has now been fully restored, allowing Dubai Airports to begin increasing flight operations in line with available regional routing capacity.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the disruption was unprecedented for a major aviation hub but added that demand for travel remains intact and capacity is being gradually restored.

The UAE aviation authority confirmed that air traffic returned to normal after precautionary measures introduced at the start of the conflict on February 28 were lifted.

Before the disruptions, Dubai International had handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and was expected to receive around 99.5 million passengers in 2026.