The Dubai Airports said passenger traffic through the Dubai International Airport in September surged 12.8 per cent to reach 4.78 million compared to 4.23 million recorded during the same month in 2011.
The strong performance during the first nine months – seven of which recorded double-digit growth – has boosted the year to date traffic by 13.4 per cent to 42.56 million compared to 37.54 million recorded during the corresponding period last year.
Western Europe recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in September (+170,934 passengers), followed by the Indian subcontinent (+96,734), the AGCC (+63,226 passengers), and Africa (+58,104 passengers). Contraction in traffic on Middle Eastern routes continued in September (-7,747) as a result of the ongoing situation in certain parts of the region.
The strongest markets in terms of percentage passenger growth were South America (+106.3 per cent) driven by new Emirates airline’s operations to destinations there, followed by Russia and CIS (+27.7 per cent), Australasia (20.6 per cent) and North America (+20.1 per cent) as both demand and capacity increased on routes to Dallas, Seattle and Washington that were launched during the year.
Aircraft movements in September increased by 3.9 per cent to 27,909 from 26,860 recorded during the same month in 2011. The year to date movements totalled 253,973, up 6.2 per cent to 239,243 movements between January and September 2011.
Dubai International handled 193,261 tonnes of cargo in September, an increase of 9.1 per cent over 177,128 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2011 and marks the highest monthly increase since October 2010. The year to date freight volumes reached 1,674,997 tonnes compared to 1,615,172 tonnes handled during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 3.7 per cent.
Jamal Al Hai, Executive Senior Vice President, International Affairs and Communications, Dubai Airports, said in a statement today: “these figures confirm the importance placed on Dubai as an international airport . The Dubai Airports recorded the growth last September because of the increasing number of travelers to attend a number of international events such as Islamic pilgrimage Hajj and World Energy Forum in addition to the Eid celebrations in Dubai. We expect to increase in passenger traffic in the next two months because of international events such as the Dubai International Film Festival”.
