Dubai: Dubai International saw more than 5.5 million passengers throughput in January 2013, setting a record for the maximum passengers in a single month, Dubai Airports said in a statement on Tuesday.
The airports body said the boost came on the back of holiday traffic in January, which is also the month Dubai Shopping Festival was held.
Passenger traffic rose 14.6 per cent to 5,559,760 in January 2013, up from 4,852,139 in the same month in 2012, according to Dubai Airport’s traffic report. Whereas, aircraft movements totalled 31,332 in January 2013, climbing 5.6 per cent from the 29,680 movements recorded in January 2012.
“January’s record passenger numbers confirm that the growth trajectory recorded last year has continued into 2013 and Dubai Airports has taken another steady stride towards the 98 million passengers a year we expect to pass through our airport by the end of the decade,” Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.
He added that the opening of Concourse A around the same time allowed the airport to increase capacity to 75 million passengers a year.
Regionally, South America remained the fastest-expanding market in with 23.7 per cent growth, followed by the GCC at 21.8 per cent, Australasia 21.3 per cent, and North America 20.8 per cent.
The Middle East, however, was the only region to record fewer visitors (-6.5 per cent) with traffic impacted by continuing political instability in Iran and Syria, Dubai Airports stated.
It added that air links, meanwhile, continue to be expanded between Dubai and Saudi Arabia with Emirates, flydubai, Nasair and Saudi Arabian Airlines all adding new flights in 2012.
Freight volumes, too, rebounded in January 2013, surging 8.6 per cent to 188,520 tons, up from 173,531 tons recorded in January last year, signalling a return to strong growth in cargo volumes at Dubai International.
