Dubai International continues to lead as the largest air transport hub in the world

During this January, Dubai International Airport recorded about 5.5 million scheduled seats on international flights (11 million seats in both directions), topping the world’s airports and continuing to set new record levels, according to the periodic report issued by OAG International, which provides data for airports and airlines.

The data, a copy of which was obtained by Emirates Today, showed that Dubai International remained the busiest airport in the world in January 2026, with an increase of 4% in seat capacity, compared to the same month last year.

Dubai Airport continues to achieve strong gains, compared to last year’s levels, as seat capacity at the airport increased at continuous rates, reaching a record level at the height of last year’s summer, and a record level last December.

This increase in seat capacity at Dubai International Airport comes as airlines continuously increase their operations, coinciding with the peak in demand at the beginning of the new year, after it recorded a strong performance in international traffic over the first nine months of 2025.

In the overall index (international and domestic flights), Dubai International Airport topped the list of airports in the world, and the American Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport came in second place, recording 4.9 million seats, followed by Tokyo Haneda Airport, recording 4.6 million seats, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in fourth place with about 4.4 million seats, and Hong Kong Airport in fifth place with about 4.3 million seats.

Dubai International increased the difference with its American counterpart, Hartsfield Atlanta, which came in second, to 580,000 seats, more than 1.1 million in both directions.

In the international flights index only, Dubai Airport also came in first place, followed by London Heathrow Airport with about four million seats, Seoul Airport in third place with about 3.88 million seats, Singapore Airport with about 3.7 million seats, and Istanbul Airport in fifth place with about 3.4 million seats.

According to the latest data issued by Dubai Airports, Dubai International Airport continued to break records for quarterly passenger traffic in its 65-year history during the third quarter of 2025, as it received 24.2 million passengers between July and September, with a growth of 1.9%, compared to last year.