Dubai airport remains world's No. 1 for international travel


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport said on Wednesday that it maintained its title as the world's busiest for international travel, despite closing one of its runways for repairs last year and the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.

The airport, home to long-haul carrier Emirates, saw 86.4 million passengers in 2019, 6 million more than second-place Heathrow Airport in London. That's down 3% from 2018, which saw 89.1 million passengers at the massive airport.

The airport blamed the weaker numbers in part on a 45-day closure of its southern runway, the bankruptcy of India's Jet Airways and the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. Government-owned Emirates' low-cost sister carrier, FlyDubai, had been flying a number of the Maxs in its fleet.

It's the sixth year for Dubai International Airport to hold the crown as the world's busiest for international travel. The world's busiest airport overall is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent Business stories

Related topics

Business
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast