Dubai International Airport (DXB) has revised its 2026 passenger forecast down to around 70 million, after airspace closures tied to the Iran conflict forced the airport to abandon an earlier target of nearly 100 million, CEO Paul Griffiths told Reuters on Thursday. The original target is now expected to be reached by end of 2027.
The scale of the disruption is visible in the first-half numbers. DXB handled 31.5 million passengers in H1 2026, compared with 46 million in the same period a year earlier. Griffiths said capacity has since recovered to 84 per cent of pre-war levels, with customer volumes back to 78 per cent.
The return of European carriers that suspended regional services during the conflict is central to the revised outlook. Several are due to resume flights next month. “I’m absolutely convinced by the end of the year, we’ll be pretty much back,” Griffiths said.
He described underlying demand as solid. “The transfer market and the point-to-point market are incredibly healthy, and I think they will continue to be healthy,” he said. India, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom remained the top origin and destination markets, and business travel held up through the disruption.
Griffiths also pointed to longer-term growth drivers. The number of cities served directly from Dubai could rise beyond the current 240 by mid-2027, with new routes to European and African cities under discussion with airlines that have never previously operated to Dubai.
“We’re talking to a number of airlines that are going to plan services from cities that have never been operated between Dubai and Europe and Africa in particular,” he said.
On infrastructure, Griffiths indicated that the conflict may prompt design changes to Dubai’s new airport to improve resilience against future disruptions.
