Dubai's DWC sees 120% rise in Q3 cargo

Dubai World Central, Dubai's second airport, continued to register strong growth in cargo volumes in the third quarter of the year, operator Dubai Airports said on Tuesday.

Cargo volumes at DWC totalled 58,423 tonnes in the third quarter of 2012, compared to 26,570 tonnes in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 120 percent, it said in a statement.

The year to date freight increased by 178 percent from 59,204 tonnes in the first nine months of 2011 to 164,757 tonnes during the same period this year.

DWC's strong showing follows similar results in the first half during which freight at the airport shot up by 226 percent.

Air traffic movements at DWC also witnessed an upswing in the third quarter with aircraft movements rising 42 percent to 4,097, from 2,877 recorded during Q3 of 2011.

Year to date movements rose from 5,403 in 2011 to 11,571 during the same period in 2012 - an increase of 114 percent.

Dubai Airports said the growth at DWC was due to the introduction late last year of a number of charter and scheduled services.

DWC currently has some 36 carriers signed up and operating while negotiations with a number of others are ongoing.

Ali Angizeh, vice president of Cargo & Logistics at Dubai Airports, said: "We are really happy with the way DWC has evolved since its opening two years ago, and is on track to establish itself as an up and coming international freight hub."