Dubai International expands the capacity difference with Heathrow to 13.5 million seats

OAG International, which provides data for airports and airlines, revealed in its annual report for the busiest airports in 2025, that Dubai International Airport continued to maintain its position as the largest international transport hub in the world, in terms of the number of seats scheduled on international flights, indicating that the capacity of “Dubai International” exceeded its counterpart, “London Heathrow”, the second largest international airport in the world, with 13.53 million seats.

The report indicated that airline seat capacity at Dubai International Airport witnessed strong growth, increasing by 4% year-on-year, now exceeding 2019 levels by 16%.

According to the data, a copy of which was obtained by Emirates Today, Dubai Airport recorded, during the past year, 62.43 million seats on departing international flights (124.86 million seats in both directions), while London Heathrow Airport came in second place, in terms of the busiest airport, with seat capacity on international flights amounting to about 48.9 million seats, an increase of 1% over 2024.

Seoul Incheon Airport came in third place, recording 43 million international seats, an increase of 3% compared to 2024, followed by Singapore Airport, recording 42.6 million seats, while Amsterdam Airport came in fifth place with about 41.33 million seats.

In the seat capacity index on international and domestic flights together, the OAG report revealed that Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport came in the lead with a total of 63.1 million seats, while Dubai International Airport ranked second, and Tokyo Haneda Airport came in third place, recording 55.4 million seats, while London Heathrow came fourth with about 52.1 million seats, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport came fifth, recording 51.24 million. Seat.

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, a growth of 1.9% compared to last year.

This exceptional performance in the third quarter contributed to raising the total number of passengers during the first nine months of last year to 70.1 million passengers, an increase of 2.1% over the same period in 2024.

During December 2025, Dubai International Airport recorded the highest monthly passenger movement in its 65-year history, as the number of passengers traveling through the airport reached about 8.8 million passengers, compared to 8.3 million passengers in December 2024.

. Dubai Airport recorded 62.43 million seats on international flights departing in 2025.