Dubai's Tourism in Crisis, Airport Turns into a Ghost Town

The tourism industry in Dubai has been severely hit by the escalation of the conflict between Iran and the United States-Israel. Dubai is facing a crisis due to the plummeting number of tourists, which is devastating the hospitality sector in this global tourism centre.

Passenger traffic at Dubai Airport in the first quarter of 2026 fell by at least 2.5 million from the same period in 2025. The steepest decline occurred in March, amounting to 66%, as travellers chose to avoid the Gulf.

Dubai International Airport, previously one of the world’s busiest in terms of passenger traffic, is now eerily empty.

Samina, an NGO worker travelling to the UAE, said the change was very noticeable at the airport, due to the many international airlines cancelling flights to and from Dubai. “When I arrived, the airport was empty,” she said about Terminal 3, the base of Emirates Airlines.

“Terminals 1 and 2 are like a ghost town,” she added, quoted from Middle East Eye.

According to Dubai Airports, only 51 out of 90 airlines have resumed operations at the airport. European and US airlines are struggling to obtain insurance coverage due to travel warnings from their governments.

Workers and business owners in Dubai, who spoke anonymously to Middle East Eye, revealed how the war in Iran has severely impacted the hospitality industry.

Charity, a Kenyan hotel worker, said that the hotel where she works was once full of stranded passengers at the start of Ramadan, when Iranian missile and drone attacks were at their peak. But after that, she said, “the situation was really quiet for several weeks”.

The UAE itself has just announced that all air travel restrictions, in place since the war in Iran broke out, have been lifted. This announcement is expected to restore the confidence of international travellers.