Dubai International (DXB) welcomed 23.4 million guests in the first quarter of 2025, of which 3 million guests were from India. With this, India continues to retain its position as DXB’s top destination country.

Dubai’s increasing appeal as a favoured destination globally reinforces DXB’s position as the world’s leading international airport. This March, DXB was named the world’s busiest international airport by Airports Council International (ACI) for the 11th consecutive year. The airport, which is served by 101 international carriers, connects with 106 countries flying travellers to 269 destinations.

While India topped the list, Saudi Arabia ranked second with 1.9 million guests. The UK came third with 1.5 million, while Pakistan ranked fourth with 1 million guests. The US and Germany settled for the fifth and sixth places with passengers numbering 8,04,000 and 7,38,000 respectively.

Talking of cities, London scored higher than any other destination with 935,000 guests. The second and third popular cities were Riyadh (759,000) and Jeddah (627,000), respectively. Mumbai stood fourth with 615,000 guests, while New Delhi ranked fifth (564,000).

Monthly traffic was highest in January with DXB welcoming 8.5 million guests. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “Our Q1 performance sets a strong foundation for the year ahead, not only in terms of guest numbers, but in the calibre of the people behind them. Delivering the busiest month in DXB’s history while maintaining exceptional service levels, cross baggage, guest flow, and accessibility is no small feat. It requires precision, agility, and an extraordinary team effort. What makes this possible is the collective effort of our oneDXB community, with each member playing a critical role across every touchpoint. This shared culture of collaboration and consistency is what elevates our performance and ensures we meet the growing expectations of our guests, every single day.”

It’s true that people make a real difference to DXB’s success story. Across its terminals, the guest-first mindset of the entire oneDXB community plays a significant role in making Dubai a sought-after destination, leading to a record 1,11,000 flight movements in Q1, up 1.9% around the same period last year – with an average of 215 guests per flight. – editor@nrifocus.com