DUBAI: Dubai’s main airport on Tuesday raised its passenger forecast for this year by nearly two million to 64.3 million people after a strong pick up in business in the third quarter from the same period last year.

DXB, a major gateway for international travel, handled nearly 18.5 million passengers in the three months to the end of September, up from 6.7 million a year earlier, state-owned operator Dubai Airports said in a statement.

The Gulf hub has seen more than 46.3 million passengers so far this year, up 168% year-on-year, and about 72% of its traffic in the same nine months of 2019, before the pandemic.

London was the top destination city in the third quarter, with two million passengers, followed by Riyadh and Mumbai. India was the top country destination, with 6.8 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia, Britain and Pakistan.