Winter travel season set to be one of the best for Dubai’s airports

Dubai Airports has entered the winter travel season with one of its strongest networks in history, as Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central–Al Maktoum International (DWC) welcome new airlines and expanded connectivity to meet rising seasonal travel demand.

Direct traffic remains a defining feature of DXB’s winter season, now accounting for 55% of passenger demand.

According to Dubai Airports, this rise in demand is part of a regular annual cycle influenced by the cooler climate, a packed calendar of international business, sports and entertainment events, residents travelling abroad for holidays or family gatherings, and the continuous flow of people choosing to live in Dubai for the long or medium term.

Europe and Central Asia are driving considerable uplift this winter with new airlines and routes, and seasonal demand from South Asia and the wider Middle East is also said to be “deepening DXB’s connectivity”.

Varesh Airline introduced twice-weekly flights from Sari in Iran on October 30, and Fly Jinnah added twice-weekly services from Lahore on November 2, reinforcing strong point-to-point traffic from regional hubs where winter travel to and from Dubai typically intensifies.

One of the sharpest rises this season is coming from Saudi Arabia. which is already DXB’s second-largest country market at 7.8% of total passengers as of October year-to-date.

Combined traffic from Saudi Arabia reached 6.3 million across DXB and DWC, up 1.3% year-on-year, with DWC recording a standout increase of 459% to 173,000 passengers.

DWC’s role in Dubai’s wider aviation landscape is becoming more visible with many airlines now taking advantage of its readily available capacity and using it to complement existing DXB services.

The airport welcomed 1.1 million guests in the first 10 months of the year, a 36.6% increase supported by demand from CIS, GCC and Western European markets. Its cargo and aircraft movement figures also continue to grow, reinforcing DWC’s strategic momentum.

Eurowings is contributing significantly to this growth with a new daily DXB service from Stuttgart, a three times a week Düsseldorf service at DWC and increased frequencies to Berlin, Cologne and Hannover, including its Premium Bizclass on the Berlin route.

Robert Whitehouse, vice president of research at Dubai Airports, said: “Winter is always a pivotal period for Dubai’s aviation sector, and the breadth of this season’s network shows how strongly demand continues to evolve.

“The growth in direct traffic across both of our airports reflects a balanced mix of inbound visitors, outbound travel from residents and the many people choosing to make Dubai their home. It is a reminder that our connectivity is not only expanding but becoming more diverse and resilient.”