The Abu Dhabi International Airport is expecting a huge rush during Eid Al Adha and the summer season, the airport operator said on Monday.
As many as 2.8 million passengers are expected to use AUH during July and August, of which 414,000 will travel between July 7 and 15 for the Eid holidays, Abu Dhabi Airports said.
“We are excited to keep the momentum going as the industry continues to recover and consumer confidence rebounds. Traffic during this upcoming peak season will ultimately have a positive impact on our 2022 traffic estimates of over 13 million passengers passing through Abu Dhabi International by the end of this year,” said Francois Bourienne, Chief Commercial Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports.
Late last month, Etihad Airways said it will fly 2.7 million passengers between June and August, following a surge in demand for global travel. Over 1.4 million passengers will depart from Abu Dhabi through the more than 1,100 weekly network-wide departures.
“As travel rebounds from the impact of the global pandemic, Etihad has witnessed a vast increase in bookings over recent weeks,” said Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group. “With summer holidays upon us and to manage the increase in passenger numbers, Etihad has bolstered operations both locally and across our global network to ensure guests enjoy a seamless airport and flight experience.”
Dubai's busy too
Dubai-based Emirates, too, is expecting a busy summer season.
The carrier expecting anywhere around 550,000 travellers by the end of July on its over 2,400 weekly flights.
The airline is also adding flights and frequencies where possible as it ramps up its summer schedule, and will be operating close to 80 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity, or over 1 million weekly seats this summer to serve demand.
flydubai, too, is bracing for a record-breaking summer.
The carrier is gearing up to welcome three million passengers over the busiest summer in the airline’s history. Over the summer period, an average of 8,500 departures per month are scheduled across its network of 102 destinations, which exceeds pre-pandemic levels.
“While the global aviation sector has been slowly recovering from the repercussions of the pandemic, we have seen Dubai steadfast in its approach to enable the return to free flows of trade and tourism. The decisions made early on in the pandemic have enabled us to ramp up our operations to cater to the pent-up demand in record time. This would not have been possible without the hard work of our people, the collaborative approach taken by the key stakeholders in the UAE and the confidence our passengers have in our operations,” flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith had said earlier.
Strong Q1
As many as 2.56 million people travelled through Abu Dhabi International Airport in the first quarter of 2022, a 218 per cent jump compared to the year-ago period, which saw 0.81 million visitors.
The airport recorded 22,689 flights during the period compared to 16,351 in 2021, a growth of 38.8 per cent.
Load factors have also doubled, with the average passenger load factor reaching 70 per cent during the first quarter, compared to 35 per cent in the year-ago period.
The airport now offers flights to 99 destinations on 26 airlines compared to 81 destinations on 18 carriers during Q1 2021.
