Dubai Airport traffic jumps 7.2%

The six daily A380 services from Heathrow are complemented by three daily A380 services between London Gatwick and Dubai.

Dubai International, the world's busiest airport in terms of international passengers, continued an upward trend in passenger traffic in May with the airport welcoming 6.7 million customers, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports on Thursday.
In May 2016 passenger numbers at the airport rose 7.2 per cent to 6,721,995 compared to 6,267,640 in May 2015, the airport said in a monthly update.
Dubai International, which welcomed 78 million passengers in 2015 to retain its position as the world's busiest, received 34,648,953 passengers during the first five months of 2016. This represents a year on year growth of seven per cent compared to 32,384,620 passengers during the same period last year.
"With near record numbers expected in the coming weeks as a result of the seasonal travel peak, we are looking at solid growth for the first half of 2016," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.
"Our focus is on maintaining and enhancing service levels, despite the high volumes. As is the case every year, we are prepared with additional staff at all touchpoints, including our May I Help You personnel, to assist and guide passengers," said Griffiths.
The airport has also launched the Hangout@DXB campaign to inform, entertain and surprise passengers. "The idea is to encourage passengers flying out on holidays to arrive early to the airport to ensure a smooth start to their journey while making the most of the wide array of dining, shopping and relaxation options we have on offer at Dubai International," he said.
With Dubai on track to attract 20 million visitors by 2020 in line with a strategic roadmap of doubling the number welcomed in 2012, Dubai airport is expected to record a consistent surge in traffic over the years. Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region in May rising 16.6 per cent, followed closely by the GCC region registering year on year growth of 16.3 per cent - propelled mainly by a surge in contribution from destinations like Jeddah, Riyadh and Doha, while Asia grew 10 per cent. In terms of total passenger numbers, India topped all countries with a total of 989,680 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (549,091), the UK (435,251), and Pakistan (327,178) while the top cities for passenger traffic were London (280,945), Doha (243,845) and Mumbai (214,061).
During the month aircraft movements totalled 34,284, up 0.6 per cent compared to 34,086 recorded during May 2015. Year to date flight numbers reached 175,071 compared to 167,654 aircraft movements recorded during the same period last year, an increase of 4.4 per cent.
Freight volumes at DXB continued to grow steadily in May reaching 226,916 tonnes compared to 216,712 tonnes in May 2015, and increase of 4.7 per cent. During the first five months of 2016 cargo volumes handled at the airport totalled 1,055,850 tonnes, up 3.9 per cent compared to 1,015,482 tonnes handled during the same period last year.
In 2015, aided by over 100 airlines that connect the airport to 240 destinations around the world, airport traffic increased by 10.7 per cent over the 70.4 million recorded in 2014.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com