Dubai airports are increasing flight operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB) after restrictions on UAE airspace were lifted.
This marks the next stage of recovery for aviation in the region after the disruption previously caused by the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
Dubai Airports announced that airlines will gradually return to normal schedules as airspace conditions improve. However, it depends on the airport situation in the UAE, because aircraft must also pass through neighbouring countries’ airspace.
Although flights in and out of the UAE continued operating through safe air corridors since March 1, despite the difficulties. Authorities across the region have been coordinating to manage air traffic safely and efficiently. According to Dubai airports, cooperation between airlines such as Emirates and flydubai helped maintain passenger and cargo movement during the crisis.
This teamwork allowed flight numbers to increase quickly once conditions improved, according to a flight controller. Dubai Airports described the past weeks as “unprecedented”. This happened because of the regional war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused major fuel shortages and serious disruption to Middle Eastern aviation.
Dubai Airports handled around six million passengers, more than 32,000 aircraft movements, and about 213,000 tonnes of cargo, between February 28 and April 30.
Previously, Dubai had experienced strong post-pandemic growth and welcomed a record 95.2 million passengers during 2025. However, the conflict significantly affected airport traffic in early 2026.
DXB handled 18.6 million passengers during the first few months of 2026, a decline of 20.6% compared to the previous year.
March alone saw passenger traffic fall sharply by 65.7%, dropping to 2.5 million passengers. Cargo traffic also decreased by 22.7%, while aircraft movements fell by 20.8%.
India remained Dubai’s biggest travel market with 2.5 million passengers. This was followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan as well. London was the busiest destination city, ahead of Mumbai and Jeddah.
Overall, Dubai Airports stated that rapid decision-making and coordination helped maintain safe operations and prepare for increased travel demand as regional conditions are still not normally stable.
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