Dubai's airport handles more international travellers than Heathrow
Passengers at Dubai International (DXB) and London Heathrow, millions, 2025. Heathrow split into all and international-only.
Dubai International handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1%. Heathrow grew 0.7%.
Dubai's lead over Heathrow's 79.9 million international passengers. Even Heathrow's total with UK flights, 84.5 million, is smaller.
India is Dubai's biggest market, ahead of Saudi Arabia (7.5m) and the UK (6.3m). The world's crossroads has moved east.
the numbers
| Passengers, 2025 (m) | |
|---|---|
| Dubai International (DXB) | 95.2 |
| London Heathrow, all passengers | 84.5 |
| London Heathrow, international only | 79.9 |
source notes & method
DXB: 95.2 million passengers in 2025 (+3.1%), and India 11.9m, Saudi Arabia 7.5m, UK 6.3m guests, from the Dubai Airports announcement published by the Government of Dubai Media Office (11 Feb 2026), which calls 2025 'the highest annual international passenger traffic recorded by any airport'. DXB's total is treated as international traffic, as Dubai Airports does. Heathrow: terminal passengers by market, Jan–Dec 2025, from Heathrow's media centre (https://mediacentre.heathrow.com/pressrelease/detail/24570): total 84,463k (+0.7%), of which UK 4,588k. Derived by progrss: Heathrow international = 84,463k − 4,588k = 79,875k (79.9m); DXB lead = 95.2m − 79.9m = 15.3m. Takeaway 3's last sentence is Interpretation.
Published 3 Nov 2026
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