Dubai welcomes 2 new airlines; has 271 destinations; 100 million passengers expected in 2027

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is by far the busiest airport in the Middle East. In 2025, 95.2 million passengers were handled, which was comfortably the highest volume to date. The 100 million milestone is due to be achieved in 2027.

DXB has many claims to fame. For example, Cirium schedule data indicates that it is ordinarily the world’s number one airport for ASKs, which reflects its international-only operation, Emirates’ huge fleet of widebodies and the large number of long-haul services.

It is generally also the world’s second-busiest airport for total seats, influenced by Emirates’ 116 A380s, and number two globally long-haul flights and seats. And among busy facilities, it has the world’s highest number of seats per flight (278 in 2026).

Two new airlines have been welcomed, including Riyadh Air

Compared to last year, two airlines have joined DXB’s portfolio. The highly ambitious Saudi new entrant Riyadh Air made its debut on 18 June 2026 from its namesake city (daily). This was followed by the small Iranian operator Varesh Airlines on 7 September 2026 from both Tehran IKA (daily) and Shiraz (2-weekly).

In comparison, 20+ airlines have pulled out. Long-haul airlines that no longer fly to DXB include Air Algerie, Air Canada, Batik Air Malaysia, China Southern, Finnair, Korean Air, Royal Brunei, Transavia, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. However, all except Finnair and Virgin are due to return in 2027. This list excludes multiple other carriers, including from Europe, which have suspended DXB flights until later in 2026.

Emirates and flydubai’s share of DXB seats jump to 79%

The above changes contribute to the share of Emirates and narrowbody-operating little sibling flydubai jumping to 79% of DXB’s capacity in the second half of 2026, up five percentage points year-over-year. That’s despite their own substantial reductions in available seats.

Emirates’ network comprises 141 passenger destinations, with London LHR being the top market based on available seats. Algiers, Damacus, Tehran IKA and Tel Aviv are among those places unserved in the examined period.

Only one route has been added. On 1 October 2026, Emirates will lift off for Helsinki (daily), becoming the first time the MEB3 operator has served Finland. However, flydubai flew there until 2022. Emirates is due to begin Berlin service, but the start date is not currently known.

flydubai’s network comprises 127 destinations, with Tel Aviv being the most-served market by seats. Compared to the second half of 2025, 15 cities do not see the airline, which include the long-haul destinations of Basel, Langkawi, Penang, Pisa and Poznan. Flights to the European cities are scheduled to return early next year. Flydubai has introduced five routes:

• 1 April 2026: Chittagong (daily); last served in 2024
• 17 June 2026: Benghazi (3-weekly); a brand-new destination
• 20 July 2026: Aleppo (daily); last served in 2012
• 1 July 2026: Bangkok DMK (initially daily, growing to 3-daily); while DMK is brand-new, the airline flew to BKK until 2018
• 23 September 2026: Pokhara (daily); a brand-new destination

Riyadh is the top market from DXB

Based on having at least 1,000 departing seats, Cirium shows that DXB has flights to 271 airports globally in the last six months of 2026. 86 are in Asia, 83 are in Europe, 41 are in the Middle East, 35 are in Africa, 15 are in North America, seven are in Australasia and four are in South America.

With 911,000 one-way seats, down by more than a fifth, Riyadh remains the leading market from DXB. This is driven by the huge P2P traffic – over 1.2 million passengers last year – but also connectivity over DXB and the Saudi capital. 158-weekly flights are available in October, provided by Saudia (49), flynas (32), flyadeal (28), Emirates (21), flydubai (21) and new entrant Riyadh Air (7).