Over 2.56m passengers pass through Abu Dhabi Airport in first quarter

Abu Dhabi Airports released its passenger traffic results for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday. It revealed that the airport welcomed 2.56 million guests, more than triple the number seen during the same period last year, on the back of resurgent demand and the resulting introduction of new frequencies, routes and services.

First quarter statistics confirm that 2,563,297 passengers were served compared to 807,310 in Q1 2021, an increase of 218 per cent as Covid-19 related travel restrictions across the globe eased and markets re-opened.

The airport recorded 22,689 flights during the period compared to 16,351 in 2021, a sharp increase of 38.8 per cent.

“The first quarter continued to build on the momentum we saw in Q4 2021 as travel restrictions eased further, markets re-opened and airlines deployed capacity to accommodate the resulting surge in demand,” said Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Abu

Dhabi Airports. He added, “There is no doubt that developments such as the relaxation of travel restrictions to and from India, the re-opening of Australia and Singapore and the removal of mandatory PCR testing for passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi provided further lift.”as a result, Abu Dhabi International Airport welcomed the expansion of operations by home carriers Etihad Airways, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the launch of 10 new routes as well as the introduction of new carriers Go First and Pegasus Airlines.

Load factors have also doubled with the average passenger load factor reaching 70 per cent during the first three months of the year versus 35 per cent during the same period in 2021.

The airport now offers flights to 99 destinations across the globe on 26 airlines compared to 81 destinations on 18 carriers during Q1 2021. The top five countries in terms of passenger volumes during the period were India (515,927), Pakistan (253,874), United Kingdom (170,620), KSA (137,582) and Egypt (127,009). The busiest destinations being served by AUH during Q1 included London (123,055), Delhi (103,472), Islamabad (101,476), Kochi (90,022) and Dhaka (89,272). — wam

The first quarter continued to build on the momentum we saw in Q4 2021 as travel restrictions eased further, markets reopened and airlines deployed capacity to accommodate the resulting surge in demand”

Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports