UAE airports surpass 100 million passengers for 2014 and Dubai dislodges Heathrow

2014 was a year of milestones for aviation in the UAE. The country's major international airports handled more than 100 million passengers in 2014 for the first time in a single calendar year. 2014 also saw Dubai International Airport (DXB) dislodge London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) from its decades long reign as the world's largest airport for international passenger traffic.

The UAE's three major hubs at Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Sharjah (SHJ) handled 99.8 million passengers between them, adding more than 8 million new travellers in over the year, growth of 9.2%.

The UAE's less utilised airports, including the massive Al Maktoum International Airport, and the smaller facilities at Ras Al Kaimah, Fujairah and Al Ain handled around 1.5 million additional passengers between them, taking the UAE's 2014 passenger total above 101 million.