While Dubai has consistently maintained its position as the world’s busiest international airport, for the most part, it fell into second place when overall passenger capacity was included (international + domestic). However, the latest data revealed this month shows that Dubai has taken the top spot as the busiest airport in the world overall, despite not having any domestic services.
But the question remains, if external factors played a role, which helped Dubai to overtake the previous holder of the position, Atlanta.
Dubai International – Busiest In The World
It has been over a decade since 
Dubai International Airport (DXB) overtook London’s Heathrow airport as the busiest international airport in the world, and since then, DXB’s seat offerings have only increased significantly on a year-on-year basis (except during COVID-19). However, for the most part, the airport was behind 
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in the US. This was primarily because of the strong domestic market within the US and the role ATL played in connecting domestic routes.
However, the latest data from OAG this month shows that Dubai has overtaken Atlanta as the busiest airport in the world, with DXB offering 2% more seats (+104,013) than ATL. While the data indicates that ATL had a similar capacity during this period in 2024, DXB is offering 5% more seats compared to this same period last year. This could be attributed to the fact that the two largest carriers in DXB, 
Emirates and flydubai, have been expanding their network and operations, especially with the former taking delivery of 13 Airbus A350 aircraft in the past year.
DXB in 2024 saw its largest passenger numbers ever, having handled over 92.3 million passengers, the CEO of Dubai Airport, Paul Griffiths, stated the following regarding the airport’s future:
“Looking ahead, we are confident in reaching the milestone of 100 million annual guests by 2027.”
Could External Factors Be In Play?
While there is nothing unnatural about the growth experienced by DXB, the same might not be true for the numbers published for ATL. For over a month now, airports across the US have been impacted by delays and cancellations due to critical areas of airports being understaffed due to the government shutdown. While the US has been short-staffed in terms of Air Traffic Controllers available at airports, the issue has only been made worse by the ongoing shutdown.
It might be possible that the delays and cancellations due to this, paired with the new mandate from the FAA for 10% capacity cuts at the top 40 airports in the US, which includes Atlanta, could have impacted ATL’s capacity. Data from FlightAware shows the following when it comes to flight cancellations at ATL in the past few days.
|
Atlanta Airport |
Thursday November 6 |
Friday November 7 |
Saturday November 8 |
Today (at the time of writing) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Number of cancellations |
12 |
87 |
368 |
214 |
A possible solution for Atlanta might be to get inspired by the city of Denver, which recently sent in a proposal to the FAA wherein the airport’s revenue is used to pay the wages of the ATC, TSA, and other federal employees at DEN, to avoid cutting the airport’s capacity by 10%. This is, however, pending FAA approval.
Dubai’s Inevitable Growth To The Top!
Regardless of the potential impact of the current state of US politics on Atlanta Airport, Dubai has been undeniably growing, with DXB reporting more passenger capacity than ATL during the first quarter of both 2024 and 2025. The airport’s continuous network and capacity growth, paired with the fact that the entire airport’s operations will eventually move to the larger Dubai World Central (DWC) in the coming years, will see the number increase significantly.
While the forecast shows DXB will hit 100 million passengers per year in 2027, the ongoing expansion project will see DWC become a five-runway airport (compared to DXB with just two runways), capable of eventually handling around 260 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually.
The key driver behind this growth will be Dubai’s own carrier, Emirates, which already boasts a fleet of over 270 widebody aircraft across its passenger and cargo fleet. Data from ch-aviation indicates that Emirates has an additional 292 widebody aircraft on order on the passenger side, and while some of these are for fleet renewal, the remaining jets will fly alongside Emirates’ existing jets, such as the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380.
