Dubai nudging Heathrow as busiest international airport

Dubai International Airport will soon become the world's second busiest international airport, new analysis has shown.

The airport is currently the world's fourth busiest, but the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has predicted that it will be second only to London Heathrow in terms of passenger traffic by November 2011.

It will then overhaul Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Paris Charles de Gaulle, CAPA said.

Dubai is currently building what's expected to be the world's largest airport - due for completion in 2017 - and is also upgrading its current terminals.

Dubai International, boosted by new aircraft being introduced by Emirates airline, is edging closer to Heathrow, offering 1.3 million international seats in throughput in November 2011, compared to around 1.5 million for London Heathrow.

CAPA said that an upswing in seasonal flights from Gulf carriers, and the increasing numbers of passengers choosing to connect between Europe and Asia via Dubai, was responsible for the jump.

The size of an airport is normally judged using benchmarks such as aircraft movements, total number of passengers (domestic and international) or the number of seats on board aircraft heading to and from that destination.

Last year, aviation analyst OAG said that Beijing Airport had overtaken Heathrow as the world's second busiest in terms of total seat capacity, although both were still behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, the world's biggest by domestic and international seats.