Incheon Overtakes Dubai as World's Busiest Airport

South Korea's Incheon International Airport has taken the top spot as the world's busiest airport for international passengers, ending Dubai International's long reign. Preliminary data from the Airports Council International (ACI), released by Incheon, shows the Seoul airport handled 38.4 million international passengers in the first half of 2026. If confirmed in the ACI's upcoming World Airport Traffic Report, this would mark the first time Incheon has held the number-one ranking since opening in 2001.

Dubai, which had ranked first for international traffic for 12 straight years, is expected to drop out of the top five. The shift follows the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February 2026, which reshaped global flight paths. ACI data shows Dubai's passenger numbers fell sharply from 7.4 million in February to just 2.5 million in March. Incheon, meanwhile, saw an 18% rise in transfer passengers as travelers avoided Gulf routes due to airspace closures.

London Heathrow is projected to come in second with 37.79 million passengers in the first half of the year, followed by Singapore's Changi Airport with 34.53 million. Incheon's growth also stems from an infrastructure expansion completed in 2024, now serving 101 airlines flying to 158 international destinations. Growing global interest in Korean culture—from TV and music to food and fashion—has helped the airport climb from fifth place in 2018 to third in 2024 and 2025, and now to the top.

Before the conflict, Dubai had been gaining ground as a tourism and transfer hub, recording 95.2 million international passengers in 2025—a 3.1% increase from 2024 and a 10.3% rise over 2019. With the European Union Aviation Safety Agency extending its conflict zone advisory for the Gulf until August 31, it remains unclear when regional air traffic will recover to pre-war levels.