DUBAI
Dubai International (DXB) attracted close to seven million passengers in November 2017 compared to 6.6 million a year ago, registering an increase of 5.6 per cent.
According to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports, passenger numbers at DXB have risen 5.8 per cent year to date to 80.9 million compared to 75.95 million a year ago.
The report stated that the most significant contribution to passenger numbers came from the Indian Subcontinent and Western Europe. The two regions were up 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively, and more than 1.5 million passengers travelled through DXB from each region in the month of November. These figures were reflected in the top cities, where London (310,551) and Mumbai (217,279) were the highest.
“Over the past year, Dubai International has witnessed consistent growth in terms of passenger traffic. Given the high passenger traffic volumes we welcomed in December we anticipate ending the year on a positive note,” Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.
For the first time in four months, Saudi Arabia (534,906) climbed to the second spot in terms of passenger numbers by country, moving in front of the UK (507,796). India (999,625) remained the top destination country for Dubai International.
Moreover, the report said that the November’s flight movement figures at DXB totalled 33,421 down 3.7 per cent on 2016, however, the average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 215, up 7.3 per cent year on year.
Freight volumes handled at DXB during November increased by 0.4 per cent in a year-on-year comparison, with tonnage totalling 235,651 compared to 234,743 for the same month in 2016. The year to date cargo volume reached 2.43 million, up 2.7 per cent from 2.36 million recorded during the first 11 months of 2016.