Dubai Airport Passenger Traffic up 6.1% in July

Passenger traffic at Dubai International, the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers, rose 6.1% in July, according to a traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports today.

Passenger traffic in July reached 5,310,361, an increase of 6.1% compared to 5,006,155 during the corresponding month in 2012. Major regional airlines such as Emirates Airline, Etihad and Qatar Airways are positioned for a robust growth, as well as international carriers such as Lufthansa.

Year to date traffic is up 15.3% to 37,972,464 compared to 32,937,794 during the first seven months of 2012. Aircraft movements totalled 28,462 during July, an increase of 2.3% from the 27,829 recorded during the same period last year. Passengers per aircraft movement in July came in at 201.

All regions recorded positive growth this month with the exception of AGCC (-8.0%) and the Middle East (-12.6%) both of which saw traffic dip due to the year-on-year shift in the timing of Ramadan. Among the strongest markets in terms of percentage* passenger growth were Eastern Europe (+58.7%), driven by flydubai expansion to multiple destinations in the region and Emirates’ new service to Warsaw. Passenger traffic to and from Australasia rose 49.4% driven by Emirates expansion and Qantas’ new operation connecting Australia and London through Dubai. On a country level, Australia (+53.6%), the U.K. (+22.1%), Sri Lanka (+20.6%) and France (+17.5%) recorded the largest increases.

In terms of overall passenger numbers, Western Europe traffic took over as the top market thanks to robust growth (+13.4%) during the month. The Indian subcontinent, which fell to second spot, continued to show positive growth (+6.1%) due to the expansion of several Indian carriers including Indigo, Spice Jet and Air India Express. North American traffic growth slowed recently, in comparison with the strong growth trends witnessed last year.

Air freight volumes saw a modest increase of 1.2% during July with volumes of 206,950 tonnes compared to 204,510 recorded during the same period last year. Year-to-date growth remains robust with cargo volumes totalling 1,403,844 tonnes, up 9.8% from the 1,278,706 tonnes shipped during the same period last year.

“Dubai International continues to build its reputation as a leading global hub that is characterised by relentless traffic growth, rapid expansion and an unflagging commitment to service,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. “What is not immediately visible is the behind-the-scenes activity and cooperation that it takes to deliver on all three fronts every day in a complex and dynamic environment. All of this will soon be on full display to the world when “Ultimate Airport Dubai”, a ten-part series documenting the incredible story of Dubai’s aviation sector, debuts on September 5 across National Geographic Channel’s global network.”