Dubai: Dubai International passenger numbers jumped 11.4 per cent in February over the same period last year as 5.08 million customers passed through the facility, according to the monthly traffic report released by airport operator, Dubai Airports on Tuesday.

Year to date passenger numbers increased 13 per cent to 10.6 million from 9.4 million recorded during the same period last year, the airport body said in a statement.

The top three destination countries in terms of market size gave impetus to the growth in February with traffic on routes linking Dubai International’s largest market, the Indian Subcontinent, up 10.8 per cent, followed by the UK with 5.2 per cent growth, and Saudi Arabia with a 42.3 per cent growth in passenger numbers compared to the same period last year. This was owing to expanded services between Dubai and Saudi Arabia launched in 2012 by Emirates, flydubai, nasair and Saudi Arabian Airlines, Dubai Airports stated.

Aircraft movements, meanwhile, reached 28,085 in the month, climbing 3.8 per cent from the 27,058 recorded in February 2012.

“We continue to stay ahead of the curve in terms of our traffic forecast of 65.4 million passengers in 2013,” Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said in a statement.

He added that the airport is also on track in terms of introducing capacity to meet demand, with the A380-dedicated Concourse A fully online.

“Additionally, the expansion of Terminal 2 is proceeding on plan as is the upgrade of Terminal 1 and the construction of Concourse D. All three projects are integral elements of our $7.8 billion airport strategic plan to boost capacity and augment service levels over the next several years.” Further, average passengers per aircraft movement — an indicator of airport efficiency and fleet mix — totalled a record 201 up 4.4 per cent from the 193 passengers per movement registered in February last year, according to the airport data, owing to the “increased numbers of Emirates airline A380s”.

Freight volumes, too, continued to climb rising 15.9 per cent to 182,580 tons, up from 157,492 tons recorded in February 2012 as growth returns in cargo volumes at the airport.