Abu Dhabi airport posts 39.2% increase in passenger traffic

Dubai: Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the owner-operator of Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA),on Sunday said, it has recorded a 39.2 per cent increase in year-to-date (YTD) passenger numbers compared to the same period last year.

ADAC also revealed that over 3.5 million passengers travelled through the airport during the first five-month period of the year.

"Passenger traffic from January through May has largely matched the steady mid-thirty percentile growth rate we have been witnessing at Abu Dhabi Airport in line with managed and anticipated projections," Rudy Vercelli, ADAC's chief executive, said in an e-mailed statement.

With growth still largely attributed to the airport's home airline - Etihad Airways - and its increasing network of new destinations and frequencies, figures for the month of May alone showed a slight departure from the airport's more recent growth rates by posting a solid 56.2 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2007.

Aircraft movements in May were up 15.1 per cent, with cargo tonnage handled by the airport up 20.2 per cent over May 2007 - YTD figures also revealing a healthy 16.4 per cent increase or 141,524 tonnes.

Figures also revealed in ADAC's monthly traffic report included the top five city destinations served from Abu Dhabi in May, representing 17.1 per cent of the total passengers through the airport: Doha (31,296), London (25,486), Cairo (23,656), Bahrain (20,018) and Manila (18,215).

May saw a 50.32 per cent increase of passengers to and from India and 51.01 per cent increase in traffic between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.