7 million passengers is new monthly normal at Dubai airport

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7 million passengers is new monthly normal at Dubai airport
Year to date, the Dubai International Airport has welcomed 62.9 million passengers.

dubai - Passenger traffic at the airport reached 7.1 million in September

By Abdul Basit

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Published: Tue 25 Oct 2016, 8:55 PM

Last updated: Tue 25 Oct 2016, 11:01 PM

Dubai International Airport is set to retain the crown of the world's busiest international hub this year.

The latest passenger data by its operator shows that seven million passengers per month is fast becoming the norm at the airport after September's numbers eclipsed that total for the sixth time in nine months.

Last month, passenger traffic at the airport reached 7.1 million compared to 6.4 million recorded in the corresponding month last year, showing an increase of 10.3 per cent.

Year to date, the airport has welcomed 62.9 million passengers, up by 7.2 per cent from the 58.69 million recorded during the first nine months of 2015.

"Dubai International's robust and upward trajectory shows no sign of stopping or slowing down. With over seven million passengers handled last month, we're seeing the airport benefit doubly from greater runway efficiencies as well as organic expansion led by Emirates and flydubai," Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based Strategic Aero Research, told Khaleej Times.

London was again the top destination city with 323,515 passengers, followed by Doha with 269,972 passengers and Kuwait with 231,457 passengers.
Baku topped the list of cities in terms of percentage growth, followed by Boston, Calicut and Taipei due to increased capacity.

Eastern Europe again was the fastest-growing market in September on additional capacity and new services launched by a number of carriers, including Emirates and flydubai, followed by GCC, Asia and the Subcontinent. India remained the top destination country, followed by the UK and Saudi Arabia.

The average number of passengers per flight during the month was 213. A total of 34,793 flights operated at Dubai International during the month under review compared to 34,146 movements recorded in September last year, marginally up by under 1.9 per cent. Year to date, the number of flights totalled 312,169, a minor increase of 3.2 per cent compared to 302,399 recorded during the same period in 2015.

September freight volumes totalled 205,142 tonnes, down one per cent from the 207,315 recorded in September last year. Year-to-date cargo reached 1.89 million tonnes, up two per cent compared to 1.8 million tonnes recorded during the first eight months last year.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: "Seven million passengers per month is clearly the new normal at DXB. While this is welcome news, we are even more pleased with our ability to enhance the passenger experience."

- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com


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