Passenger traffic at Dubai International has bounced back from a three-month slump resulting from a major runway upgrade project which concluded on July 20th to register a record 6.6 million passengers in August 2014.
Monthly passenger traffic at Dubai International reached 6,648,058 in August 2014, up 10.8 percent compared to 5,999,375 recorded in the corresponding month in 2013. The hub returned to full operational capacity in August following a runway upgrade project that reduced the airport to a single runway for 80 days and cut capacity by 26 percent. The year to date passenger traffic as at the end of August totalled 46,479,919, an increase of 5.7 percent compared to the 43,971,839 passengers recorded during the first eight months of 2013.
Aircraft movements during August totalled 31,214 movements, a marginal increase of 0.1 percent from the 31,198 recorded during the corresponding month in 2013. During the first eight months of the year, aircraft movements totalled 227,110, down 6.4 percent from 242,571 recorded between January and August last year, reflecting the impact of the runway closure period. Average passengers per movement during August increased to 219.7, up 5.2 percent from 208.9 recorded during the same month last year, reflecting a move by airlines to larger aircraft.
Monthly cargo volume also rebounded by 4.3 percent, reaching 192,902 tonnes in August compared to 184,877 tonnes during the same month in 2013. Year to date cargo reached 1,560,869 tonnes during the first eight months of the year, down 2.2 percent from 1,596,772 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2013.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, “It’s good to return to more robust growth figures resulting from full capacity and ongoing network expansion after being constrained to a one-runway operation for nearly three months. The numbers are far more indicative of the growth trend we expect to see for the remainder of the year and will be crucial in our journey to the top of the list of the world’s busiest international hubs.”
