Dubai : The Dubai International Airport oversaw 87 million passengers through 2023, recording a year-on-year growth of a substantial 32 per cent.

The numbers also point to a significant uptick in fourth quarter traffic at the airport, helped by the COP28 event and the year-end festivities.

"This exceptional performance reflects Dubai's commitment to maintaining its lead", said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority in a tweet on Monday (Feb 19).

In 2022, the airport had clocked in 66 million in passenger traffic. As it gave updates on quarterly numbers this year, Dubai Airport had regularly updated its own forecasts on what 2023's eventual numbers would be.

The latest update was provided in November, and then the estimate had been for 86.8 million. The final tally shows that the forecast was spot on.