The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented 70% drop in passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport in 2020 from the previous year, its CEO announced.

Although traffic began to rise after Emirates resumed flights last summer, the airport's load of 25.9 million passengers in 2020 is still negligible compared to 2019. The airlines have cut the number of flights by more than 50%.

Within a few months, Dubai's huge airport, which welcomed 86.4 million passengers in 2019, turned into a ghost town. One of its two main terminals was closed.

The number of airport staff was cut from 8,000 to 3,000.