which cities are rising, and which are fading
50 cities, six rankings, measured the same way everywhere. No surveys. No paid places.
The busiest air gateways
Air passengers through the city’s airports in 2025, millions. · Fact
- 9 Dubai UAE 95.2M
- 20 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 40.8M
- – Baghdad Iraq not reported
- – Cairo Egypt not reported
- – Tehran Iran not reported
Source: airport operators and national aviation authorities (one per airport) · 2025 data. 28 cities have no published figure from a primary source yet. Cities with no full-year figure from the airport or its regulator show as not reported; most African, South Asian and Latin American airports publish none yet. New York: Port Authority total for its airports, rounded; Los Angeles: five airports in the region; Dubai: DXB only; Dubai World Central (about 1m) not yet published for the full year; Bangkok: Don Mueang given as 31.6m in AOT's summary and 31.7m in its chart; Delhi: summed from the operator's monthly filings; São Paulo: Guarulhos rounded by its operator; Hong Kong: rounded by the airport authority; Sydney: published as 'more than 42.54 million'.
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