Dubai Airport Fully Operational for 1st Time Since Pandemic’s Start

Dubai International Airport is fully operational for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. All terminals, concourses, lounges, restaurants and retail outlets at the airport, a busy international travel hub, are now open, the French news agency AFP reported citing the official state news agency.

The complete opening comes as the number of coronavirus infections continues to rise in the UAE.

The airport saw more than 86 million travelers in 2019 and only 25.9 million in 2020, due to a halt in overseas travel with the onset of the coronavirus. The Dubai airport is busy at end of the calendar year as the UAE’s large foreign workforce visits their home countries for Christmas and to celebrate the new year.

Outbound travel for UAE citizens and residents was opened in June, and Dubai reopened to international tourists in July  2020.