Dubai airport passenger numbers rise 2% in October with India top destination

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international traffic, handled more than 7 million passengers in October, a 2.1 per cent increase from a year earlier, with India retaining its spot as the top destination.

Traffic in the first 10 months of the year rose 1.5 per cent to 74.5 million, Dubai Airports, the operator of Dubai and Al Maktoum airports, said yesterday.

India’s 999,771 passengers were followed by the UK (502,890) and Saudi Arabia (444,803), while the top three cities were London (302,139), Mumbai (204,753) and New Delhi (184,669). The US attracted 231,688 and China 200,765.

North America was the airport’s fastest-growing region, with passengers from there increasing 14.4 per cent, followed by Africa with 9.8 per cent and CIS countries with 8 per cent.

Airlines at Dubai International will reduce flights they operate for 45 days next year when the southern runway will be closed for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting from April 16 to May 30.

Emirates, the world’s biggest carrier by long-haul traffic and the home airline, will reduce flights by a third during the period. Emirates will cancel and reschedule some flights, and reduce the number of flights to some destinations. The airport expects to handle more than 90 million passengers next year from 88.2 million last year.

In terms of cargo, Dubai International’s freight volume rose 2.5 per cent to more than 237,000 tonnes. Total cargo handled at the airport in the first 10 months of this year declined 0.9 per cent to 2.17 million tonnes.

In terms of cargo, Dubai International’s freight volume rose 2.5 per cent to more than 237,000 tonnes