Dubai: The volcanic ash cloud that grounded flights around the world for six days last month had a minimal impact on growth at Dubai International Airport as April passenger numbers rose 13.9 per cent from 3,289,037 to 3,745,016 and cargo volumes increased 19.6 per cent per cent from 149,169 tonnes to 178,357 tonnes versus the same period last year.

Year to date passenger traffic increased 18.7 per cent to 15,215,536, while cargo grew by 24.6 per cent to 715,628 tonnes compared to April 2009.

"To record double-digit growth during a month where over 500 flights were cancelled is impressive," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

"It's testament to the great job airlines did to clear the backlog after the skies opened up. And it's a clear indication that our confidence in the continued growth at Dubai International is well placed."

The volcanic ash cloud and resulting airspace closures in Europe that occurred April 15-21 caused over 100,000 flight cancellations worldwide and prevented 10 million passengers from flying, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Minimum impacts

At Dubai International, timely communication and airline re-routing minimised the impact to just over 500 flight cancellations, stranding some 6,000 passengers, the large majority of whom were accommodated in hotels around the city.

Following the disruptions, 46 additional flights transported the stranded passengers and cargo to their final destinations and effectively cleared the backlog in the shortest possible time.

The disruptions led to some variations in traffic flows.

Strong growth was seen in all regions with the exception of Western Europe where passenger numbers grew by just 1 per cent in April versus the monthly double-digit growth that had been recorded during the six previous months.

Similarly, London was surpassed by Doha, albeit temporarily, from its position as the top destination in terms of traffic as passenger numbers between Dubai and the UK capital plummeted 20 per cent due to flight cancellations.

  • 18.7%: Passenger growth in a year
  • 24.6%: Cargo growth