Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, saw a record 92.3 million passengers pass through its terminals in 2024, officials announced.

Last year’s result cements Dubai’s bounce back from the COVID pandemic, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 for the first time.

Today, the airport feels like it is bursting at the seams with aircraft movements and crowds moving through its cavernous terminals as authorities plan to move operations in 10 years to the city-state’s second airport after a nearly $US35 billion ($A56 billion) upgrade.

Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the figure on the social media platform X.

In 2023, the airport, known as DXB, had 86.9 million passengers. Its 2019 traffic was 86.3 million passengers. It had 89.1 million passengers in 2018 – its previous busiest-ever year before the pandemic, while 66 million passengers passed through in 2022.

A real-estate boom and the city’s highest-ever tourism numbers have made Dubai a destination as well as a layover. However, the city is now grappling with increasing traffic and costs pressuring both its Emirati citizens and the foreign residents who power its economy.

In 10 years, Dubai plans to move its airport operations to Al Maktoum International Airport, some 45km away from DXB.

This post was originally published on Michael West.