Dubai Airports on 28 November issued a red-level ‘peak season’ advisory after forecasting more than 10 million passengers will transit Dubai International (DXB) between 27 Nov and 31 Dec—the biggest year-end surge in the hub’s history. Daily throughput is expected to top 300,000 during the UAE National Day long weekend and again in the run-up to Christmas and New Year.
Travel-operations chiefs are urging departing residents to arrive at least three hours before flight time, use online check-in and consider the Metro to dodge notorious airport-road gridlock. Emirates and flydubai have both reopened remote bag-drop counters at the Palm and DIFC to relieve terminal pressure, while immigration queues are being funnelled through newly upgraded smart-gate corridors capable of 12,000 scans per hour.
![Dubai International braces for record 10 million passengers in holiday rush]()
Corporate travel managers should flag the advisory to assignees: missed bag-drop cut-offs could cascade into overbooking and force involuntary re-routing just as project teams return from COP-29 side events. The airline community is also monitoring a potential strain on hotel inventory, particularly mid-market properties near Expo City, where several sports tournaments coincide with the shopping festival.
Supply-chain implications reach beyond passengers. DXB’s cargo village anticipates a 22 per cent spike in express-freight tonnage, largely driven by e-commerce peak season. Logistics firms with time-critical shipments are already booking night-time slots to avoid apron congestion.
DXB handled 41.6 million passengers in the first half of 2025, putting it on track to surpass its pre-pandemic 2019 record. The year-end crush will test the resilience of staffing increases rolled out after last year’s baggage-belt meltdown.
Travel-operations chiefs are urging departing residents to arrive at least three hours before flight time, use online check-in and consider the Metro to dodge notorious airport-road gridlock. Emirates and flydubai have both reopened remote bag-drop counters at the Palm and DIFC to relieve terminal pressure, while immigration queues are being funnelled through newly upgraded smart-gate corridors capable of 12,000 scans per hour.
Corporate travel managers should flag the advisory to assignees: missed bag-drop cut-offs could cascade into overbooking and force involuntary re-routing just as project teams return from COP-29 side events. The airline community is also monitoring a potential strain on hotel inventory, particularly mid-market properties near Expo City, where several sports tournaments coincide with the shopping festival.
Supply-chain implications reach beyond passengers. DXB’s cargo village anticipates a 22 per cent spike in express-freight tonnage, largely driven by e-commerce peak season. Logistics firms with time-critical shipments are already booking night-time slots to avoid apron congestion.
DXB handled 41.6 million passengers in the first half of 2025, putting it on track to surpass its pre-pandemic 2019 record. The year-end crush will test the resilience of staffing increases rolled out after last year’s baggage-belt meltdown.
