Dubai airport sees passenger traffic drop 70% amid pandemic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport saw the coronavirus pandemic push passenger traffic down by an unprecedented 70% in 2020 compared to the previous year, its CEO announced Monday, even as the airport held onto its prized title as the world’s busiest for international travel.

While the key east-west transit point started to see an uptick in traffic after long-haul carrier Emirates resumed its routes last summer, the airport’s 2020 passenger load of 25.9 million is still a trickle compared to 2019. Airlines slashed their schedules and flights declined by more than 50%.

For months as the travel industry collapsed worldwide, Dubai’s massive airport, which saw 86.4 million passengers in 2019, became a…