During the first quarter of this year, the total scheduled seat capacity on international flights departing from Dubai International Airport increased by 9.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 14.73 million scheduled seats (approximately 29.46 million seats in both directions), as reported by OAG International.
Dubai International Airport remains the world's largest airport in terms of seat capacity for international flights operated by airlines at the airport. During the first quarter of the current year, Dubai International added approximately 1.3 million seats (2.6 million seats in both directions) compared to the previous year.
Dubai International Airport had over five million scheduled seats in January, 4.73 million in February, and around five million in March. The rise in seat capacity at Dubai International Airport is due to the attraction of new airlines, the opening of more destinations, and the increase in flights to current destinations following a successful year of international traffic in 2023.
In March, Dubai International Airport held the top spot in terms of seat capacity according to OAG data, with a lead of almost one million seats over London Heathrow Airport, which had around four million seats. Singapore Airport followed with 3.4 million seats, and Seoul Airport was also mentioned. Amsterdam ranks fifth with 3.2 million seats out of a total of 3.37 million seats recorded.
Dubai Airport ranked second globally in total seat capacity for both international and domestic flights, following Hartsfield Atlanta Airport in the United States, which had approximately 5.2 million seats in March. "Dubai International"exceeded "Hartsfield Atlanta" in January 2024 by recording over five million seats. Since then, "Dubai International" has been steadily closing the gap with "Atlanta."
Last year, Dubai International Airport welcomed 10 new airlines and reinstated flights for two carriers, leading to a boost in passenger numbers and flight frequency at the airport. In 2023, Dubai International Airport experienced a notable 31.7% rise in passenger traffic, totaling around 87 million passengers.
The results were mostly influenced by the significant growth observed in the latter part of the year, when the passenger count reached 45.4 million.
In December 2023, 7.8 million passengers traveled, making it the busiest month in the last quarter. August of the previous year saw 7.9 million passengers, making it the busiest month of that year. Dubai International Airport has connections to 262 destinations through over 102 international airlines operating in 104 countries worldwide.
