Abu Dhabi International Aug passenger traffic jumps 17.4%

Abu Dhabi - A total of 2.254 million travellers passed through the capital's gateway last month, compared with 1.920 million in August last year.

Passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport grew 17.4 per cent in the month of August, as residents who went home to spend Eid-ul-Fitr and the summer holidays returned.
A total of 2.254 million travellers passed through the capital's gateway last month, compared with 1.920 million in August last year. This is the highest number of passengers in one month, in the airport's history, said Abu Dhabi Airports, the company that operates airports in the emirate.
Commenting on the latest passenger figures, Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "In the month of August we registered another record number in passenger figures at Abu Dhabi International Airport. For the second time ever, we witnessed over two million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi in a single month. This spike in traffic is attributable to many residents returning home to the UAE from vacations, ahead of the beginning of the school year."
There was also an increase in aircraft movements, with a 14.1 per cent increase compared to August 2014, said a statement by Abu Dhabi Airports. Cargo activity rose to 70,857 metric tonnes last month, registering a seven per cent growth on the figure for freight traffic for the same period last year.
"Abu Dhabi is also increasingly being seen as a preferred tourism and business destination, and this contributes directly to the growth we're seeing year on year," the chief operating officer said. "In response to this, Abu Dhabi Airports has been implementing several initiatives to ensure that the airport continues to provide the facilities and services needed to manage the increased passenger and aircraft traffic."
He added that Abu Dhabi Airports is paying extra attention to the peak travel season, when passenger flow reaches its heights and the airport welcomes on average 70,000 passengers on a daily basis. In August 2015, the top five routes from Abu Dhabi International Airport were London, Bangkok, Doha, Manila, and Bombay. The top five routes accounted for 15 per cent of all traffic.
- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi