Dubai airport sets new record
Dubai International Airport handled 7.7 million passengers in August, its operator Dubai Airports announced.
dubai — Dubai International airport continued its record-breaking performance for the second consecutive month by handling 7.7 million passengers in August and surpassing July’s 7.6 million passengers, its operator Dubai Airports announced on Monday.
Dubai International’s continued and robust growth for the peak summer period has demonstrated the allure of the airport as the travel nexus for the region and the world, according to a senior aviation analyst.
“With almost 56 million passengers catered for so far this year, Dubai International is clearly on track to break yet more records,” Saj Ahmad, Chief Analyst at Strategic Aero Research, told Khaleej Times.
Emirates and flydubai have been instrumental in both harnessing new traffic flows through their aggressive expansion, Ahmad added.
Passenger traffic at Dubai airport reached 7.7 million in August compared to 7.28 million recorded in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 6.1 per cent.
The year to-date traffic totalled 55.85 million passengers up 6.9 per cent compared to 52.26 million recorded during the first eight months of 2015. The seasonal rush of travellers, in particular UAE residents returning for the start of the academic year, boosted the traffic leading to a bumper month.
Spurred by additional capacity and new services launched by a number of carriers including Emirates and fly- dubai, Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (67.9 per cent), followed by Asia (13 per cent), South America (11.7 per cent), and the Subcontinent (11.7 per cent). India remained the top destination country (924,256 passengers), followed by the UK (584,508 passengers) and Saudi Arabia (535,280 passengers). London was the top destination city with 371,320 passengers followed closely by Doha (252,616 passengers) and Kuwait (240,712 passengers).
Baku (+284.5 per cent) topped the list of cities in terms of percentage growth, followed by Mashhad (118.6 per cent) and Boston (88.2 per cent) – growth on the routes boosted by increased capacity. The average number of passengers per flight during the month was 237 –
dubai International is clearly on track to break yet more records Saj Ahmad, Chief Analyst, Strategic Aero Research
one of the highest DXB has ever seen. Aircraft movements totalled 33,827 during the month under review compared to 34,773 movements recorded in August 2015, marginally down by 2.7 per cent. Year-to-date aircraft movement totalled 276,233 up 2.9 per cent compared to 268,360, recorded during the same period in 2015.
Dubai International handled freight totalling 201,100 tonnes in August compared to 207,427 tonnes recorded in August 2015, a contraction of 3.1 per cent. Year to date cargo reached 1.69 million tonnes, up 2.4 per cent compared to 1.6 million tonnes recorded during the first eight months last year.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “Consecutive months with record breaking traffic is a great way to mark the 56th anniversary of DXB which occurred last week. Looking back it’s astonishing to see how quickly a tiny airport that was once a refuelling stop for airlines has turned into the world’s number one international hub. Over these five and a half decades, DXB has welcomed more than three quarters of a billion passengers.”