Dubai’s incredible success story of rebounding from the Covid-19 pandemic has yet another tangible, data-based proof – Dubai International (DXB) has announced that its passenger numbers grew 127 percent to 66 million in 2022.
The strong recovery and consistent growth outpaced the annual forecast yet again in the final months of the year following an exceptionally strong fourth quarter, which was led by December, the busiest month of the year with 7.1 million passengers.
Of the 66,069,981 passengers who came through Dubai International during the year, 19,729,155 passengers came in the fourth quarter, which is up 67 percent compared to Q4 2021. It was the busiest quarter since 2019 and the first time since January 2020 that DXB’s monthly traffic hit the 7 million mark.
DXB top destinations
India was the biggest market for the airport once again, accounting for a whopping 14.8 percent of the overall numbers with a total traffic of 9.8 million passengers. This was followed by Saudi Arabia (4.9 million) and the United Kingdom (4.6 million) as the top three destinations.
Other destination countries of note include Pakistan (3.7 million passengers) the US (3 million). Russia (1.9 million) and Turkey (1.6 million) has recorded more than 100 percent recovery in passenger volumes compared to 2019 levels.
DXB’s top destination cities – among the 229 it connects in 99 countries through 88 international carriers – in 2022 were London (3 million passengers), followed by Riyadh (2 million), Mumbai (1.9 million), while Jeddah and New Delhi were tied for fourth place at 1.7 million passengers each.
Target 78 million
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, commented: “We knew it was the year when growth would return to the air travel sector in a big way, but the surge was much stronger than anticipated and we had to do our best to turn that challenge into an opportunity.
“Thanks to the planning, preparation, and all the collaboration and hard work of our people across the airport community, we were ready to meet the challenge of rapid recovery in customer numbers while delivering significant improvement in our service quality across the board.”
Commenting on the outlook for 2023, Griffiths added: “Given its dynamism and global impact, there is never a dull year for the aviation sector and 2023 will be no exception. With DXB forecast to welcome 78 million passengers this year, and Dubai hosting major international events including COP28, it will be another year of new challenges and opportunities and we are ready for them.
“Our top priority in 2023 will be our customers, our people, and sustainability – three key areas that are crucial to our aspirations and goals as the world’s busiest global hub, a preferred employer, and as a key player and trend-setter in the world’s aviation industry.”
Flight numbers increase
Total flight movements at DXB reached 343,339, a year-on-year growth of 47 percent. In the four quarter, which was propelled by the FIFA Football World Cup in Qatar and with many fans deciding to make Dubai their base, 96,701 flights passed through DXB.
The average number of passengers per flight reached 204, up 33 percent year-on-year.
Cargo down with a reason
With all major freight operators moving back to Dubai World Central (DWC) and the return of pax-freighter aircraft back to passenger operations during the year, cargo continued to register a contraction in volumes with 420,125 tonnes recorded in the fourth quarter, down 31.7 percent compared to 614,834 tonnes in Q4 of 2021.
DXB handled 1,727,815 tonnes of cargo during 2022, a drop of 25.5 percent.
Baggage and waiting times
For one of the world’s busiest international hub, Dubai International’s baggage handling system put up an impressive performance in 2022. The airport processed a total of 62.2 million bags during the year with a success rate of 99.8 percent, which would equate to a rate of 2.2 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.
In terms of baggage delivery on arrival, 92 percent of all baggage was delivered within 45 minutes. The baggage volume in 2022 represents 86.2 percent of the 2019 baggage volume at DXB.
The average waiting time at passport control queues was less than 13 minutes for 95.48 percent of the arriving passengers and 96.24 percent of passengers queued for less than five minutes at departure passport control.
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