Dubai: Dubai International recorded a 7.2 per cent increase in passengers in April as visitors from neighbouring Gulf Arab states surged.
The airport handled 6,978,268 passengers in April compared to 6,510,653 in the same month a year earlier, operator Dubai Airports said in a statement today.
There were 1.64 million passengers from the Indian Subcontinent, up 9.49 per cent, 1.53 million from the Gulf Arab states, up 36.8 per cent, and 1.25 million from Western Europe, down 12 per cent, the statement said.
The figures bring the year-to-date (April) passenger numbers to 27.9 million, up 6.9 per cent compared to the first four months of 2015.
Eastern Europe recorded the fastest monthly growth rate in April, up 12.6 per cent, followed by Asia, up 12.1 per cent, and Gulf Arab states, up 10.3 per cent.
Robust plan
“We are very pleased with the growth so far this year and with the summer travel peak round the corner the numbers are only going to increase,” Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths said in the statement. Throughout the summer, the airport expects “to welcome a record number of passengers,” he added. “We are actively working with our partners devising a robust operational plan which will involve the deployment of additional staff.”
Dubai Airports, did not, however, say how many passengers it expects at Dubai International in the summer. It handled a record 7.2 million passengers in August 2015.
The number of aircraft landings and take-offs rose in April by 4.3 to 34,733 and the airport handled 213,790 tonnes of cargo, up 4.8 per cent.
