Dubai airport's March passenger numbers up 5.8%; cargo down 3.7%

Dubai: Dubai International Airport increased its passenger numbers by 5.8 per cent in March 2011 against the same period a year earlier, Dubai Airports, which manages and operates the airport, said on Monday in a statement, adding that passenger traffic increased to 4.2 million in March from 3.97 million in the same period in 2010.

The freight volumes, meanwhile, recorded a 3.7 per cent dip in March this year as cargo traffic dropped to 185,921 tonnes in the month from 193,054 tonnes in the same period in 2010. Dubai Airports said the decline is largely attributed to the air cargo traffic boom seen in 2010 as the global economy rebounded from the 2009 downturn spiking freight volumes as companies across the globe cleared inventories.

The largest increases in total passenger numbers in March were recorded on routes to and from Arab and Gulf countries, AGCC (+137,255 passengers), Indian subcontinent (+84,300 passengers), Asia Pacific (+25,071) and Russia and CIS (+21,165 passengers), according to the airport operator. It added that the passenger totals on Middle Eastern routes, however, dropped 23,240 while a decline of 24,402 passengers was recorded on African routes as traffic was affected by political unrest in those regions.

"Passenger traffic growth continues to be robust. At the current levels we are on track to exceed 50 million passengers this year," Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.

Aircraft movements for the month, meanwhile, totalled 27,674 in March 2011, recording a 6.3 per cent increase from 26,037 recorded in March 2010. During the first quarter of 2011, 12.3 million passengers passed through the airport, up 7.0 per cent from 11.5 million during the first three months of 2010.