Dubai airport sees 6.5% rise in April passengers

zoom

PASSENGERS UP: Dubai International Airport saw more passengers in April compared to the same month in 2008, according to latest figures. (Getty Images)

Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport increased 6.5 percent in April compared with the same period last year as the hub continued to defy the global slowdown.

Since mid-2008, airports across the world have reported dwindling throughput figures following a drop in air travel demand. But Dubai International is still reporting growth – albeit less than the double-digit figures seen in recent years.

The airport attracted 3,271,475 last month – up from the 3,073,479 in 2008, according to the Airports Council International’s (ACI) latest figures.

“The results for April are ahead of our expectations and this bodes well for the rest of the year,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. “The latest figures are very encouraging, and considering that the travel season is yet to peak, we are very positive that the second quarter will show better results.”

The ACI revealed that Dubai International was ranked fourth globally in March for passenger traffic. It was the only hub among the world’s top 10 for traveller numbers to report growth in two successive quarters, with 7.1 percent and two percent registered in last year’s Q4 and Q1 of 2009 respectively.

Griffiths said he expected more airlines to join the five new carriers that recently launched flights to and from Dubai.

"There are indications that we will continue to welcome new airlines at more or less the same rate over the coming months, and this will add to our current growth, much of which is a direct result of the rebound in traffic from Western Europe, the US and Russia," he said.

The launch of flydubai, the emirate’s own low-cost carrier, from Terminal 2 will further increase the airport’s passenger figures, Griffiths added.

Last year, Dubai International handled more than 37.4 million passengers, a nine percent increase compared with 2007.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM