Dubai: Passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport was up 5.3 per cent from a year earlier to 5.97 million people in February, according to a statement on Monday from Dubai Airports, which owns and manages operations of the facility.
Year-to-date passenger traffic at Dubai’s main airport rose 6.6 per cent to 12.86 million people.
“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,” Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.
Aircraft movement grew 6.1 per cent in February to 31,012. Movement year-to-date increased by 6.2 per cent to 65,655.
In terms of growth in overall passenger numbers, the Indian subcontinent was the top market with a gain of 133,355 passengers, followed by Western Europe and Asia. Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (71.7 per cent), mainly driven by low cost carrier flydubai’s regional network, followed by North America, Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
However, passenger traffic on Russian and CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] routes continued to contract (35.6 per cent) as a result of the region’s political and economic instability. Routes to Asia Pacific and the Middle East also contracted, by 6.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
India continued to be the top destination country, with 802,129 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Freight volume increased by 1.2 per cent in February to 191,002 tonnes. Year-to-date cargo stood at 377,232, down 2.2 per cent.
