Dubai International’s passenger traffic up 13.1% in September

Passenger traffic at Dubai International, the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers, rose 13.1 per cent in September, according to the latest traffic statistics issued today by operator Dubai Airports.

Passenger traffic in September totalled 5,407,326, an increase of 13.1 per cent compared to 4,780,394 during the corresponding month in 2012. Year to date traffic is up 16 per cent to 49,379,165 compared to 42,565,340 recorded during the first nine months of 2012. Aircraft movements totalled 30,746 during September, an increase of 10.2 per cent from the 27,909 recorded during the same period last year. Passengers per aircraft movement in September came in at 193.

All regions recorded positive growth in September with the exception of South America (-6.9 per cent). Among the strongest markets in terms of percentage* passenger growth were Eastern Europe (+65.1 per cent), driven by flydubai expansion to multiple destinations in the region and Emirates’ new service to Warsaw. Passenger traffic to and from Australasia rose 38.6 per cent as a result of Emirates’ expansion and Qantas’ new operation connecting Australia and London through Dubai. On a country level, Australia (+41.7 per cent), France (+23.7 per cent), Saudi Arabia (+22.4 per cent), Thailand (+21.8 per cent) and the UK (+21.7 per cent) saw the largest increases.

In terms of overall passenger numbers, Western Europe traffic took over as the top market thanks to robust growth (+14.8 per cent) during the month. AGCC came in second thanks to 15 per cent year-on-year passenger traffic growth. The Indian subcontinent, which took third spot, continued to show positive growth (+9.8 per cent) due to the expansion of several Indian carriers including Indigo, Spice Jet and Air India Express.

Air freight volumes rose 1.8 per cent in September with volumes of 196,823 tonnes compared to 193,261 recorded during the same period last year. Year-to-date cargo traffic totalled 1,785,539 tonnes, up 6.6 per cent from the 1,674,997 tonnes shipped during the same period last year.

“Passenger and cargo traffic growth continue unabated and Dubai International is on track to eclipse our projections for 65.4 million passengers and 2.7 million tonnes of cargo,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. “With the opening of our new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central, and the ongoing expansion at Dubai International, Dubai’s aviation infrastructure continues to make it an attractive destination for tourism, trade and commerce.”