A file picture showing the Dubai international airport, home to the national carrier Emirates Airways. - AFP
The British hub still outclassed Dubai International in overall numbers, handling 73.4 million passengers if travellers on domestic flights are included.
“This historic milestone is the culmination of over five decades of double-digit average growth,” Dubai Airports Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said in a statement.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said Dubai International would boost its annual capacity to 90 million passengers this year with the opening of Concourse D -- a new hall for arrivals and departures.
The Gulf emirate’s other airport, Al-Maktoum International, opened in 2013 for passengers and will be capable of handling 120 million travellers when completed by 2022.
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