Passenger traffic at Dubai International falls 3.8%

Traffic at 6.59m in May due to lower volumes in Ramadan, operator says

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport (DXB) reached nearly 6.59 million in May, falling 3.8 per cent year-on-year from the 6.85 million recorded in the same month in 2017.

Operator Dubai Airports said the decline was due to lower volumes traditionally experienced during Ramadan. The figure brings passenger traffic in the first five months of 2018 to 36.94 million, down 0.1 per cent from the nearly 36.97 million in same five months last year.

Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region in May in terms of passenger traffic, with a 19.4 per cent increase, driven by growth on routes to Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania. The launch of flydubai’s flights to Krakow in Poland also helped drive traffic between Dubai and Eastern Europe.

A report from Dubai Airports said that CIS was the second fastest region in terms of growth (11.3 per cent), followed by Africa (9.9 per cent) where Nigeria and Egypt recorded strong growth in May.

Top destinations

India was the top destination country, with a total of just over one million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (495,242), and the UK (429,893). Top cities for passenger traffic were London (262,913 passengers), Mumbai (213,056), and Jeddah (179,756).

In terms of cargo, freight volumes at Dubai International Airport fell 4.9 per cent year-on-year in May to 221,363 tonnes. Cargo volumes in the first five months of 2018 were also lower compared to 2017, at just over one million tonnes, a 3.1 per cent decline.