Dubai Airport Passenger Growth Soars

Ahead of the curve, Dubai International Airport has reported strong passenger growth in the first quarter of 2012, seeing a significant 13% increase compared with the same period last year.

It was reported that in May alone that passenger numbers saw a 10.4% year-on-year increase. Traffic reached an impressive 4.4 million for May 2012, while the same month the previous year saw 3.9 million passengers moving through the airport.

Dubai's flagship airline Emirates and budget carrier flydubai are identified as prime contributors to the figures and are expected to further fuel growth through 2012.

Dubai Airport Passenger Growth

Dubai Airports' CEO Paul Griffiths commented “Dubai International has had a strong showing in terms of passenger traffic so far this year with double-digit growth recorded in four of the first five months. With forecast suggesting the growth trend to continue during the second half of the year, we are well on track to achieve the projected traffic of 56.5 million by the end of 2012"

Specifically, the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council cited the most passenger growth came from South American routes, recording an epic 114.2% increase in 2012. flydubai benefited greatly form Russian and CIS traffic following expansion into these new markets.

Dubai Airport Growth

Despite these exceptional rates of passenger growth, traffic from the Middle East showed a 2.5% decline, put down to instability in the region. However, the number of aircraft movements has still seen an increase, up 9,550 movements (7.2%) on last year.

Away from the shiny terminals and executive lounges, air cargo and freight movements are also on the up. Since 2011 the amount of freight has increased 1.4%, shifting an additional 879,359 tonnes through the airport on the same time last year.

As a major hub, Dubai International Airport passenger growth is expected to continue to rise into the foreseeable future. The recently released passenger growth figures put the airport well on track to hitting its 90m passenger target by 2018.

Image copyright Ned Russell - Courtesy Wikimedia Commons