Passenger traffic at the Dubai International Airport bounced back from a three-month slump resulting from a major runway upgrade project to register a record 6.6 million in August 2014.
The monthly passenger traffic at the airport reached 6,648,058 in August, up 10.8 per cent compared to 5,999,375 recorded in the corresponding month in 2013. The hub returned to full operational capacity in August following a runway upgrade project that reduced the airport to a single runway for 80 days and cut capacity by 26 per cent. The work was completed on July 20.
The year-to-date passenger traffic as at the end of August totalled 46,479,919, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to the 43,971,839 passengers recorded during the first eight months of 2013.
The traditionally strong Indian sub-continent topped the list of regions with the largest growth in passenger numbers (+147,096 passengers), followed by Western Europe (+131,095), Asia (+98,089), the GCC (+69,223) and Africa (+64,451 passengers). The top regions in terms of percentage growth in traffic were North America (28.9 per cent), and Asia (19.2 per cent).
Aircraft movements during August totalled 31,214, a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent from the 31,198 recorded during the corresponding month in 2013. During the first eight months of the year aircraft movements totalled 227,110, down 6.4 per cent from 242,571 movements recorded between January and August last year, reflecting the impact of the runway closure period.
Average passengers per movement during August increased to 219.7, up 5.2 per cent from 208.9 recorded during the same month last year, reflecting a move by airlines to larger aircraft.
Monthly cargo volume also rebounded by 4.3 per cent, reaching 192,902 tonnes in August compared to 184,877 tonnes during the same month in 2013. Year-to-date cargo reached 1,560,869 tonnes during the first eight months of the year, down 2.2 per from 1,596,772 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2013.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “It’s good to return to more robust growth figures resulting from full capacity and ongoing network expansion after being constrained to a one-runway operation for nearly three months. The numbers are far more indicative of the growth trend we expect to see for the remainder of the year and will be crucial in our journey to the top of the list of the world’s busiest international hubs.”
