Dubai airport is busiest for global travel as virus persists

By AYA BATRAWY
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s main airport has retained its top place as the world’s busiest for international travel, with around 29 million passengers shuttling through the global gateway last year. The 2021 passenger figures are encouraging for the tourism-driven economy of Dubai and a sign that intentional travel has picked up somewhat since the coronavirus pandemic spawned unprecedented global lockdowns and border closures in 2020. Last year’s figure represents a 12% increase in traffic at Dubai International Airport, compared to 2020. Still, last year’s passenger figure is nowhere near the pre-pandemic milestone of 86.4 million in annual traffic logged by the airport in 2019.