Dubai International Airport hits 100% operational capacity, set to return to pre-pandemic levels

Dubai International Airport, or DXB, the world's busiest hub for international travel in 2019, has returned to 100% operational capacity in a potential boon to regional jet fuel demand, with visitors to the second-biggest emirate in the UAE set to return to pre-pandemic levels in December.

"The rate of recovery of DXB has exceeded most other airports of comparable size and highlights the positive international reputation that Dubai has as an attractive city that has taken decisive steps to protect its visitors and residents," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, the operator of DXB.

"The number of visitors to Dubai is likely to exceed pre-pandemic levels during the final few weeks of the year which is an excellent milestone on our journey towards full recovery," Griffiths added.

The airport, which handled 86.4 million in 2019, was closed in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, before gradually beginning to reopen from June last year.

"Reaching the point where 100% of our facilities are now open and serving customers, plus the huge resurgence in passengers arriving into Dubai marks an important milestone for the aviation sector as well as for the city of Dubai and its economic growth," Griffiths said.

Visitors to Dubai exceeded 1 million during the month of October and DXB handled 1 million passengers per week in November, with origin-destination passengers reaching 94% of pre-pandemic levels, Dubai Airports said.

Jet fuel demand

Traffic at DXB, which reached 10.6 million passengers in the first half of 2021, is expected to hit 28.9 million by the end of the year, 2.1 million more than the September 2021 forecast.

Dubai International Airport handled a total of 25.9 million passengers in 2020, a 70% drop from a year-ago period.

S&P Global Platts Analytics expects jet fuel demand in the Middle East region to recover by 20% year on year to 320,000 b/d in the fourth quarter of 2021. This uptick "will be 34% lower than the fourth quarter of 2019 levels as a full recovery of global aviation is still beyond the horizon," Platts Analytics said in a Dec. 10 report.

Dubai International Airport is home to Emirates Airline, the world's biggest carrier for long-haul flights in 2019.

Emirates carried 6.1 million passengers between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2021, up 319% from a year-ago period.