DXB passenger traffic in November increases 6%

dubai - DXB, which is the world number one in international passenger traffic, handled more than 83 million passengers in 2016.

Dubai International (DXB), the world's busiest airport for international traffic, sustained the upward trend in passenger traffic with the hub welcoming close to seven million passengers in November 2017.

A monthly traffic report issued on Thursday by operator Dubai Airports said passenger traffic at DXB reached 6.954 million in November compared to 6.582 million recorded in the corresponding month in 2016, an increase of 5.6 per cent.

Till November, passenger numbers at DXB have risen 5.8 per cent to 80.387 million compared to 75.947 million recorded during the same timeframe in 2016.

DXB, which is the world number one in international passenger traffic, handled more than 83 million passengers in 2016 - up more than seven per cent over 2015.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said over the past year, Dubai International has witnessed consistent growth in terms of passenger traffic. "Given the high passenger traffic volumes we welcomed in December, we anticipate ending the year on a positive note."

With December figures yet to come, the annual growth is forecast to be about 6.5 per cent in 2017 to 89 million passengers and growth will be "incremental" to 118 million a year by 2023, Griffiths said.

"One of the challenges we've got now is to continue to supply capacity at what is now a very constrained airfield," he said in his interview to a news agency.

Dubai is spending $36 billion expanding its second airport, Al Maktoum International, to handle up to 120 million passengers by 2025 when state-owned Emirates is to move there.

In November, the Indian Subcontinent and Western Europe accounted for the most significant share of passengers. The two regions were up 7.5 per cent and eight per cent respectively, and more than 1.5 million passengers travelled through DXB from each region in the month of November. These figures were reflected in the top cities, where London (310,551) and Mumbai (217,279) were the highest.

For the first time in four months, Saudi Arabia (534,906) climbed to the second spot in terms of passenger numbers by country, moving in front of the UK (507,796). India (999,625) remained the top destination country for Dubai International.

November's flight movement figures at DXB totalled 33,421, down 3.7 per cent on 2016, however the average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 215, up 7.3 per cent year on year.

Freight volumes handled at DXB during November increased by 0.4 per cent in a year-on-year comparison, with tonnage totalling 235,651 compared to 234,743 for the same month in 2016. The year-to-date cargo volume reached 2,425,475, up 2.7 per cent from 2,362,332 recorded during the first 11 months of 2016.

According to Iata, the Middle East's aviation market is forecast to grow five per cent annually until 2036. Predictions show the sector will witness an extra 322 million passengers a year on routes to, from and within the region and the total market size will expand to 517 million passengers over this period.

The Middle East region gained a five per cent share of the global aviation market last year, flying 206.1 million passengers - an increase of 9.1 per cent over 2015.

- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com