Sixteen million passengers passed through Dubai International Airport in 2002, a growth of 18 per cent over the 13.5 million in 2001.

Cargo movement grew 24 per cent with total freight movement estimated at 784,996.93 tonnes against 632,23.52 tonnes in 2001.

Aircraft movement has also shown growth of 11 per cent with 148,334 movements against 134,165 movements in 2001.

This is a notable fact since worldwide aircraft movement has registered negative growth due to the fact that more carriers are opting for wide-bodied aircraft.

"The year 2002 has been an exceptional year for Dubai International Airport," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group.

"Passenger movement, cargo movement, duty free sales have all surpassed projections for the year and we are hoping to maintain this trend this year. According to our projection, we should handle 17 million passengers in 2003."

Sheikh Ahmed said the opening of Sheikh Rashid Terminal marked a new high in passenger movement.

"In the year 2000, we had a growth of 14.6 per cent while in 2001 - despite global events and traffic falling worldwide - we had a growth of 10 per cent.

"With 18 per cent growth this year, we have set a new precedent. With the increased capacity and excellent facilities offered by Sheikh Rashid Terminal, we expect this growth to continue and hence have commenced our next phase of expansion."

Dubai International Airport enjoyed growth all around in 2002.

Dubai Duty Free announced record annual sales of Dh1.1 billion, representing a 23 per cent increase over 2001.

Executive Flight Services (EFS) handled a total of 2,422 movements, which is an increase of 31 per cent over 2001.

In December alone, EFS witnessed a growth of nearly 105 per cent.

Dubai International Hotel at the Sheikh Rashid Terminal saw an occupancy rate of 106 per cent over the year. Highest occupancy was 133 per cent during January.

Currently, the number of airlines operating out of Dubai International Airport stands at 104, serving 140 destinations.

Peak passenger movement was in August with 1.5 million passengers though the highest growth in a single month was in December with a 33.5 per cent growth over 2001.

Average passenger movement per day was 43,763. Arriving passengers registered a 21 per cent growth while departing passengers registered a 19 per cent growth in 2002.

Transit passengers, however, declined 3 per cent which goes on to show that Dubai is now more a destination than a mere transit stop.