Dubai International Airport — Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai International Airport, universally recognized by the code DXB, spent years ranked as the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic, reflecting Dubai's strategy of positioning itself as a connecting point roughly equidistant from Europe, Asia, and Africa. Emirates flies its long-haul fleet from a dedicated Concourse A built for the double-decker Airbus A380, long the backbone of its network, alongside flydubai's growing presence at other terminals. Three passenger terminals connected by tunnels and an internal train system process tens of millions of travelers annually, many of them transiting rather than stopping in the emirate itself. The airport sits remarkably close to central Dubai, with its runways visible from towers along Sheikh Zayed Road. Plans to eventually shift long-term operations toward Al Maktoum International have repeatedly been delayed as DXB continues expanding instead.