India, Saudi, UK, Pakistan top destinations for Dubai Airport in H1

India, Saudi, UK, Pakistan top destinations for Dubai Airport in H1

London, Mumbai, Riyadh were the busiest routes for Dubai International in the January-June period

Published: Tue 22 Aug 2023, 10:56 AM

India continued to be the top destination for Dubai International in the first half of 2023 with 6 million passengers using the world’s busiest airport.

According to data released by Dubai Airports on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia came second with 3.1 million passengers, followed by the UK (2.8 million), Pakistan (2 million), the US (1.8 million), Russia (1.3 million) and Germany (1.2 million).

Among cities, London topped with 1.7 million passengers during the January-June period, followed by Mumbai (1.2 million) and Riyadh (1.2 million).

In the post-Covid period, ‘revenge travel’ gained popularity across the globe, helping the aviation sector to bounce back after a massive hit during the pandemic when airports were shut and airlines were grounded to contain the pandemic.

The airport received 41.6 million passengers in the first half of 2023, surpassing 2019 levels.

Dubai International was connected to 257 destinations across 104 countries, through more than 91 international airlines.

The airport handled a total of 201,800 flights in the first half, up 30.2 per cent year on year, up 13 per cent compared to the same period in H1 2019. The average number of guests