Dubai is reportedly losing over $600 million per day as passenger traffic plunges and hotels close (The Cradle) 5 MAY 2026 – Dubai’s tourism industry is reeling from the US-Israeli war on Iran, with decreased air travel, vacant hotels, slowed local businesses, and a decline in confidence among workers, travelers, and business owners, according to multiple reports from the past week.
Workers and residents told Middle East Eye (MEE) on 5 May that Dubai’s image as a safe tourism and business center has been badly shaken after Iranian retaliatory strikes on the UAE disrupted travel and pushed foreign visitors away.
Charity, a Kenyan hotel worker, said her hotel was filled with stranded passengers during the worst of the attacks before business sharply slowed.
“We’ll see over the next week if people really start to come back,” she said, and expressed, “We need your people [foreign tourists] to come back.”
Longtime traveler Samina said the change was clear at Dubai International Airport. “Coming in, it’s empty,” she said of Terminal 3, adding, “Terminal 1 and 2 are ghost towns.”
Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport fell to 2.5 million in March, a 66 percent year-on-year drop, according to Dubai Media Office.
The sharp March decline dragged first-quarter passenger traffic down 21 percent to 18.6 million, compared with 23.4 million a year earlier.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths called the disruption “unprecedented for any major airport hub,” while saying Dubai International was “well positioned to progressively increase capacity” after UAE airspace was restored.
The UAE Civil Aviation Authority said on 2 May that air traffic had returned to normal after precautionary measures introduced on 28 February were lifted, saying the decision followed “a comprehensive assessment of operational and security conditions, in coordination with the relevant authorities.”
However, just two days later, the UAE reimposed emergency air traffic limits through at least 11 May, restricting flights to a small number of authorized routes under new NOTAMs issued by the aviation authority, adding to the economic pressure.
The Daily Mail reported on 3 May that the damage has spread across Dubai’s wider tourism economy, estimating that the emirate could be losing as much as £450 million (over $600 million) a day, with several major hotels closed or placing staff on unpaid leave.
In Sonapur, a labor district housing migrant workers, several workers and travel-sector sources described job losses across restaurants, hospitality, and sales.
One Pakistani worker told the Daily Mail that “The big problem now is not Iran but business. There are no tourists, and all businesses are really down.”
Human Rights Watch official Michael Page warned that “millions of migrant workers employed across the Gulf countries are navigating threats to their physical safety and job security,” adding that the war exposed gaps in labor protections under the kafala system.
UAE authorities have recently detained and deported as many as 15,000 Pakistanis, many of them Shia Muslims, without formal charges or clear explanations, as migrant workers face worsening job losses and security pressure during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
unpaid leave. I hope they cant restaff
I hope Iran flattens the place. UAE is just jews in robes and towels.