Dubai International Airport Passenger Traffic Plunged 66% in March

Dubai International Airport handled just 2.5 million passengers in March — a 66% year-over-year decline — as the Iran war triggered airspace closures and disrupted air traffic across the Middle East.

First-quarter passenger traffic fell 21% year-over-year to 18.6 million, the airport said in a statement Monday.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths, who had forecast 99.5 million passengers for 2026, said Monday that the 100 million milestone will likely slip to 2027. “We were projecting to break that golden 100 million passenger mark this year,” he told Bloomberg Television. “I think