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Dubai has overtaken Heathrow as the world’s busiest international airport in terms of yearly passenger numbers.
The United Arab Emirates airport said it handled almost 70.5 million passengers in 2014, compared with around 68.1 million at Heathrow.
Dubai passenger numbers rose 6.1% in the year to reach a “historic milestone,” Dubai Airports said.
“The shared goal is to make Dubai a global centre of aviation,” said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Airports.
Heathrow has been trying to increase capacity for a number of years while operating at around 98% capacity, a spokeswoman told the BBC.
“Britain has benefited from being home to the world’s largest port or airport for the last 350 years. But lack of capacity at Heathrow means we have inevitably lost our crown to Dubai,” she said.
“This highlights the pressing need to get on and expand our own hub, Heathrow, so we can connect the whole of the UK to global growth.”