DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, has seen 70.1 million passengers already pass through its terminals this year, officials announced Wednesday.

The rapid growth of passengers at the airport underscores Dubai as a key hub for East-West travel in global aviation and the need for its $35 billion project to build a massive, five-runway airport at Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central.

The city-state's second airport is now hosting the biennial Dubai Air Show, which already has seen major aircraft orders by both the long-haul carrier Emirates and its lower-cost sister airline FlyDubai. Those purchases will fuel a major expansion of the routes flown by the two state-owned airlines.

“These record-breaking

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