Dubai Airport Handles 7.2 Mn Passengers in August 

Dubai: Dubai International Airport (DXB) in August recorded 7.7 million passengers. This is a new record for Dubai airport as it has surpassed the previous record achieved in July. During the month, India was the top destination country accounting for over nine lakh travelers, according to a monthly traffic report.

India remained the top destination country (9,24,256 passengers), followed by the UK (584,508 passengers) and Saudi Arabia (535,280 passengers).

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport reached 7,727,105 compared to 7,282,256 in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 6.1 per cent. The year to date traffic totalled 55,850,353 passengers, up 6.9 per cent compared to 52,264,223 in first eight months of 2015.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: "Looking back, it's astonishing to see how quickly a tiny airport that was once a refueling stop for airlines has turned into the world's number one international hub. Over these five and a half decades, DXB has welcomed more than three quarters of a billion passengers."

The seasonal rush of travelers, in particular UAE residents returning for the start of the academic year, boosted the traffic, a statement said.

Spurred by additional capacity and new services launched by a number of carriers including Emirates and flydubai, Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (67.9 per cent), followed by Asia (13 per cent), South America (11.7 per cent), and the Indian Subcontinent (11.7 per cent).

Spurred by additional capacity and new services launched by a number of carriers including Emirates and flydubai, Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (67.9 per cent), followed by Asia (13 per cent), South America (11.7 per cent), and the Indian Subcontinent (11.7 per cent).

London was the top destination city with 371,320 passengers, followed closely by Doha (252,616 passengers) and Kuwait (240,712 passengers).

The average number of passengers per flight during the month was 237, one of the highest DXB has ever seen. Aircraft movements totalled 33,827 during the month compared to 34,773 movements in August 2015, marginally down by 2.7 per cent. Year to date aircraft movement totaled 276,233, up 2.9 per cent compared to 268,360 during the same period in 2015. Consecutive months with record breaking traffic is a great way to mark the 56th anniversary of DXB which occurred last week.

"As we continue to grow, our focus will continue to operate not only the world's busiest airports, but also the world's best in terms of customer service," he said.

Baku (+284.5 per cent) topped the list of cities in terms of percentage growth, followed by Mashhad (118.6 per cent) and Boston (88.2 per cent).

Source: PTI