2026-09-07
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the most connected airport in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East for 2025, according to the ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Air Connectivity Index published on 7 September 2026. DXB ranks first of the 315 airports covered by the index both for total air connectivity and for hub connectivity, where its score is close to 40% higher than that of the nearest competitor, Shanghai Pudong. Incheon is third, Guangzhou Baiyun fourth and Doha’s Hamad International fifth. Air connectivity across the two regions grew 11% in 2025; the Middle East grew 21%, twice the pace of Asia-Pacific at 10%. The index, prepared with PwC, also records a sharp reversal in the first half of 2026: Middle East direct connectivity fell 23% year on year as airlines cut schedules and rerouted around closed airspace, while Asia-Pacific grew 0.5%.
What was published on 7 September 2026
Airports Council International Asia-Pacific and Middle East (ACI APAC and MID), the trade association that represents more than 600 airports in the two regions, released the 2026 edition of its flagship Air Connectivity Index in Hong Kong on 7 September 2026. The index measures 2025 data for 315 airports, 277 in Asia-Pacific and 38 in the Middle East, ranging from under 1 million to more than 95 million passengers a year. It combines direct, indirect and hub connectivity, weighing every available seat by the economic weight of the destination served and the quality of the connection: aircraft type, domestic or international status, number of stops and airline alliance membership. The study was prepared with PwC.
The headline result is unchanged from previous editions. “Dubai International Airport continues to rank at the top in 2025”, the release says, and “once again emerged as the region’s leading hub, with a hub connectivity score close to 40% higher than its nearest competitor”. Gulf News, which reported the ranking the same day, noted that DXB retained the top position and widened its lead over rivals. In the 2025 edition of the index, covering 2024 data, DXB was also first, with Shanghai Pudong and Hamad International completing the top three for hub connectivity; in the 2023 edition ACI congratulated DXB on the No. 1 position for 2022.
Top 10 most connected airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, 2025
| Rank | Airport | Country | Hub connectivity rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dubai International (DXB) | UAE | 1 (score close to 40% above No. 2) |
| 2 | Shanghai Pudong (PVG) | China | 2 (connectivity up 32% in 2025, the strongest gain among major airports) |
| 3 | Incheon (ICN) | South Korea | 3 |
| 4 | Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | China | 5 |
| 5 | Hamad International (DOH) | Qatar | 4 |
| 6 | Singapore Changi (SIN) | Singapore | outside the top 5 |
| 7 | Beijing Capital (PEK) | China | outside the top 5 |
| 8 | Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) | Thailand | outside the top 5 |
| 9 | Tokyo Haneda (HND) | Japan | outside the top 5 |
| 10 | Hong Kong International (HKG) | Hong Kong SAR | outside the top 5 (connectivity up 28% in 2025) |
Source: ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Air Connectivity Index 2026 (2025 data). Kuala Lumpur International, with connectivity growth of 30%, was the second-fastest improver among major airports after Shanghai Pudong but did not enter the top 10.
Why DXB’s lead matters: hub connectivity
Total connectivity counts the destinations, frequencies and seats an airport offers directly and through one-stop connections. Hub connectivity measures how well an airport joins arriving and departing flights into onward journeys, which is exactly the business model of Dubai: Emirates and flydubai route passengers between Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas through DXB. In the 2026 index Dubai’s hub score is close to 40% higher than Shanghai Pudong’s, the second-ranked hub, with Incheon third, Hamad International fourth and Guangzhou Baiyun fifth. ACI’s release notes that traffic from Asia-Pacific to Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America and Africa has exceeded pre-pandemic levels “especially via Gulf hubs”, and that intercontinental traffic from the Middle East grew 9% in 2025 and is 27% above 2019.
The scale behind the ranking is documented in Dubai Airports’ own figures. DXB handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up from 92.3 million in 2024; the upper end of the index’s range, “more than 95 million passengers a year”, is DXB’s bracket. In August 2026 Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said that DXB expects to reach 100 million passengers a year within 18 months. Emirates, the airport’s home carrier, was the world’s No. 1 airline by international seat capacity in August 2026 according to OAG, with more than 31 billion available seat kilometres, and will operate 64% of all A380 flights in the world in 2026.
Middle East connectivity up 21% in 2025: the UAE airports in the index
The Middle East posted 21% growth in air connectivity in 2025, “driven by the expanding reach of Gulf-based carriers”, against 10% in Asia-Pacific and an 11% average across the index. The pace moderated from 14% in 2024, when the Middle East grew 28%, as growth “settled into a more sustainable trajectory” in ACI’s words. International city pairs across the two regions grew 10% on average in 2025, down from 17% in 2024, while domestic city pairs turned positive at 0.8% after a 1% decline.
Three UAE airports appear in the release. Besides DXB, Sharjah International Airport recorded one of the three strongest improvements among airports handling 15-25 million passengers a year, together with Kolkata and Sanya, and Abu Dhabi International Airport was among the three most improved airports in the 25-40 million category, alongside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Medina and Muscat led the 5-15 million category and Hamad International held fifth place overall. Sharjah’s growth is visible in its traffic: the airport, which served 19.48 million passengers in 2025, handled 390,000 passengers in one peak summer week of 2026 and keeps adding European routes with Air Arabia.
Across the whole index, 74% of the 315 airports recorded positive connectivity growth in 2025, and 83-97% of major hubs did. The picture is weaker at the bottom: only 51% of the smallest airports, those under 1 million passengers a year, improved, partly because of airline route rationalisation and the closure of several connections. Intra-regional flows still account for 91% of departing passenger traffic in Asia-Pacific, 5% above 2024 and 5% above 2019; traffic from Asia-Pacific to North America remains 9% below 2019, the only major market that has not recovered.
The first half of 2026: a 23% drop in the Middle East
The same release warns that 2026 has started very differently. Despite “the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and changes in US trade policy”, direct connectivity in Asia-Pacific grew 0.5% in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025, and passenger traffic in the region rose about 1.6%. The Middle East “contracted sharply, down 23%, as geopolitical conflict in the region forced airlines to cut schedules and reroute around affected airspace”. ACI adds that the region’s geographic position and “strong underlying aviation market continue to support its role as a major global connectivity hub”.
Dubai’s own statistics for the period show the size of the shock and the pace of recovery. DXB handled 31.5 million passengers in the first half of 2026, 31.3% fewer than a year earlier, with 13 million in the second quarter against 22.5 million in the same quarter of 2025; monthly traffic then climbed from 3.5 million in April to 5 million in June. At the end of June the airport was served by almost 50 airlines flying to 217 destinations in 99 countries, and Dubai Airports expects the European and American carriers that suspended flights to return with the winter schedule at the end of October 2026. After about 12 years as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, DXB was second in the first half of 2026 and expects to regain the top position by the end of the year, according to its CEO.
The long-term capacity plan is unchanged. Dubai Airports intends to award AED 55 billion of contracts for the new Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) by the end of 2026, with the first phase due to open in 2032, the year DXB is expected to reach capacity, and the UAE continues to build the rail, port and air cargo infrastructure of its logistics hub. ACI’s policy recommendations for the next phase of growth are the revision of existing air service agreements, continued easing of visa requirements and reforms of the slot allocation framework. Stefano Baronci, Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East, projects passenger volumes across the two regions to reach 11 billion within the next three decades.
What DXB’s connectivity means for business in the UAE
For a company that chooses Dubai as a base for the Middle East, Africa, South Asia or the CIS, the index quantifies an operational advantage: one-stop access to most of the world’s economic centres through a single hub. The practical points to check:
- Regional headquarters and travel budgets. A hub with the region’s highest connectivity score means more direct flights and shorter connections to the markets a regional office serves; in the 2026 index DXB is first for both total and hub connectivity, and Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are among the most improved airports in their size categories.
- Trade and air cargo. Connectivity is measured in passenger seats, but the belly holds of the same flights carry time-sensitive cargo; ACI has pointed out that connectivity “is equally crucial for supporting global trade and economic resilience, particularly through belly hold cargo capacity”. Importers clearing goods at DXB can use the customs clearance that Dubai Customs has cut from 45 minutes to under 5.
- Visa policy. ACI names “continued easing of visa requirements” as a condition for further growth. For employers this is the practical side of connectivity: staff, partners and clients need entry permits and residence visas, and these are issued through the company’s licensing authority.
- Resilience planning. The 23% drop in Middle East connectivity in the first half of 2026 shows that schedules can change within weeks. Companies that depend on travel and air freight should keep alternative routings, flexible fares and insurance terms in their plans, and follow the return of suspended carriers in the winter 2026 schedule.
- Location within Dubai. DXB will remain the main hub until operations move to Al Maktoum International, whose first phase is due in 2032; businesses that plan offices, warehouses or staff housing for a horizon beyond 2030 should compare Dubai South and the DWC corridor with the districts around DXB.
The release does not publish the numerical scores of individual airports or DXB’s position on a global scale; the 40% margin refers to the hub connectivity score within the Asia-Pacific and Middle East index only.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital sets up companies in Dubai and across the UAE for trading, logistics, aviation services, travel and consulting businesses that want to use the country’s connectivity as a base for the region. We select the jurisdiction and licensed activities for the actual business model, whether a mainland licence for freight forwarding and ground services or a free zone company in Dubai South, Dubai Airport Freezone or another zone for trading and consulting, and take the client through company formation, corporate bank account opening and work visas and residency for owners, directors and employees. Accounting, audit, VAT and corporate tax filings are handled by licensed accounting firms from our partner network.
Conclusion
The 2026 ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Air Connectivity Index confirms Dubai International as the region’s most connected airport and its leading hub, with a hub connectivity score close to 40% above Shanghai Pudong and a Middle East that grew 21% in 2025, twice the pace of Asia-Pacific. The same report records the cost of the first half of 2026, a 23% drop in Middle East direct connectivity, and the response to it: airlines returning, DXB rebuilding towards 100 million passengers and AED 55 billion of contracts for the next airport. For businesses in the UAE the ranking is a measurable input into decisions on headquarters, supply chains and staffing.
FAQ
Which is the most connected airport in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in 2026?
Dubai International Airport (DXB). In the ACI Asia-Pacific and Middle East Air Connectivity Index published on 7 September 2026, which covers 315 airports and 2025 data, DXB ranks first for total air connectivity ahead of Shanghai Pudong and Incheon, and first for hub connectivity with a score close to 40% higher than its nearest competitor.
How does the ACI Air Connectivity Index rank airports?
The index combines direct, indirect and hub connectivity. Every available seat is weighted by the economic weight of the destination and the quality of the connection: aircraft type, domestic or international service, number of stops and airline alliance membership. The 2026 edition covers 277 airports in Asia-Pacific and 38 in the Middle East and was prepared with PwC.
How fast did Middle East air connectivity grow in 2025?
By 21%, twice the 10% growth of Asia-Pacific and above the 11% average across the index; in 2024 the index grew 14%. Intercontinental traffic from the Middle East rose 9% in 2025 and is 27% above 2019. In the first half of 2026, however, Middle East direct connectivity fell 23% year on year because of the regional conflict, while Asia-Pacific grew 0.5%.
Which UAE airports improved most in the 2026 index?
Sharjah International was among the three strongest improvers in the 15-25 million passenger category, and Abu Dhabi International among the three most improved airports handling 25-40 million passengers a year. Dubai International kept first place overall; it handled 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and plans to reach 100 million a year within 18 months.
