Dubai airport nears 6m passengers

Dubai International Airport Dubai - Arab Today Monthly passenger traffic at Dubai International reached 5,999,375 in August Traffic at the world\'s second busiest international airport surged 23.8 per cent in August making it the busiest month in terms of passenger numbers in Dubai International\'s history, according to traffic report issued yesterday by airport operator Dubai Airports. According to the report, the monthly passenger traffic at Dubai International reached 5,999,375 in August, a year-on-year increase of 23.8 per cent compared to 4,847,152 in the corresponding month in 2012. The surge is the result of a strong growth in almost all markets and the effect of Ramadan and Eid travel which further boosted traffic during the month. With monthly traffic breaching the 5 million passenger mark for nine consecutive months, the year to date passenger number increased by 16.4 per cent to 43,971,839 compared to 37,784,946 recorded during the first eight months of 2012. Spurred by the strong growth in markets such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, the GCC routes topped the list of regions with the largest growth in passenger numbers (+289,021), Western Europe (+258,288) – which has been positively affected by the launch of Qantas\' services to Dubai; followed by the traditionally strong market of the Indian subcontinent (+163,657), and Africa (+89,533). The top regions in terms of percentage growth in traffic included Eastern Europe (82 per cent), Australasia (45 per cent), and Asia Pacific (40.4 per cent). Aircraft movements during August reached 31,198, up 11.5 per cent from 27,986 recorded during the corresponding month in 2012. During the first eight months of the year aircraft movements totalled 242,571, up 7.3 per cent compared to 226,064 during the corresponding period in 2012. Year to date cargo volumes increased by 8.1 per cent to reach 1,588,716 tonnes compared to 1,469,476 during the first eight months of 2012. Monthly cargo volume contracted by 3 per cent in August reaching 184,877 tonnes compared to 190,770 tonnes in August 2012. Commenting on the consistently strong performance of the hub, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports said, \"The results have been very satisfying so far this year with the airport achieving traffic growth rate well over the projected figures. While five million passengers per month has become a standard at Dubai International, it\'s worth noting that in August we were barely two Airbus A380s short of hitting the 6 million passenger figure. The signs are good for the remainder of the year, the highlight of which will be the launch of passenger operations at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC). We have signed MoUs with two airlines and are in discussion with a number of other carriers to start services at the new airport while Wizz Air has confirmed it will start operations on October 27th as DWC\'s launch customer.” Source: WAM