Passenger traffic increases at DXB

MAR 30, 2015: Passenger traffic continued to grow steadily at Dubai International during February with nearly 6 million passengers, according to the latest traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

Passenger traffic reached 5,973,727 in February, up 5.3 percent compared to 5,675,246 recorded during the same month in 2014. Year to date passenger traffic rose 6.6 percent to 12,869,395 passengers, up from 12,075,952 during the first two months of 2014.

In terms of passenger numbers routes to the Indian subcontinent recorded the highest growth (+133,355 passengers) during the period, followed by Western Europe (+103,379), and Asia (+54,332 passengers). Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (+71.7 per cent) mainly driven by flydubai’s network in the region, followed by North America (+12.9 per cent), Asia (+10.9 percent) and the Indian subcontinent (+10.6 percent).

The contraction in passenger traffic on Russian and the CIS routes continued (-35.6 percent) owing to the ongoing political and economic instability in the region. Minor contractions were also recorded on routes to Asia Pacific (-6.2 percent) as well as the Middle East (-2.1 percent).

India remained the top destination country (802,129 passengers) with financial capital Mumbai as the busiest destination, followed by Saudi Arabia (454,000 passengers) and the UK (431,705 passengers). Doha was placed number one on the list of top destination cities followed closely by London, Mumbai and Jeddah.

Dubai International recorded total aircraft movements of 31,012, up 6.1 per cent compared to 29,220 recorded during the same month in 2014. Year to date aircraft movements came in at 65,655, rising 6.2 percent from the 61,845 movements recorded during first two months in 2014.

Freight volumes recorded a minor increase of 1.2 per cent to 191,002 compared to 188,702 tonnes recorded in February 2014. Year to date cargo totalled 377,232, a contraction of 2.2 percent compared to 385,723 during the first two months in 2014.

“We are very pleased with the steady growth in passenger numbers in the first two months this year. As this trend continues in the coming period, the recently completed expansion of Terminal 2, and the opening of Concourse D along with the refurbished elements of Terminal 1 in the second half of 2015 will play a crucial role in accommodating that growth and enhancing customer experience across all three terminals at Dubai International,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.