plate 112 · 2025 data

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.

Egypt and the Arab world
  1. 1. Egypt is set to outgrow Japan in 2027, then Russia
  2. 2. In 2025, Suez Canal traffic was under half its record
  3. 3. Egypt exports more fresh oranges than any other country
  4. 4. Egypt is the world's biggest wheat buyer
  5. 5. Saudi Arabia has more desalination capacity than the entire US
  6. 6. Three in four UAE residents are international migrants
  7. 7. Only America draws more new foreign projects than the UAE
  8. 8. Algeria outspends all of sub-Saharan Africa on its military
  9. 9. Women in MENA now outpace men at university
  10. 10. Dubai's airport handles more international travellers than Heathrow
  11. 11. The UAE sold more goods abroad than France in 2025
  12. 12. Oil now makes less than a third of Saudi power
95.2 million

Dubai International handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1%. Heathrow grew 0.7%.

15.3 million

Dubai's lead over Heathrow's 79.9 million international passengers. Even Heathrow's total with UK flights, 84.5 million, is smaller.

11.9 million

India is Dubai's biggest market, ahead of Saudi Arabia (7.5m) and the UK (6.3m). The world's crossroads has moved east.

Source: Dubai Airports 2025 traffic release (via Government of Dubai Media Office); Heathrow Airport, December 2025 traffic release, 2025
the numbers & method
Dubai's airport handles more international travellers than Heathrow. Source: Dubai Airports 2025 traffic release (via Government of Dubai Media Office); Heathrow Airport, December 2025 traffic release, 2025.
Passengers, 2025 (m)
Dubai International (DXB)95.2
London Heathrow, all passengers84.5
London Heathrow, international only79.9

Claim types Fact · Interpretation

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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