Dubai air passengers increase by 8.9%

Dubai International Airport saw passenger numbers grow by nearly nine percent in November compared to the same month last year, its operator said on Wednesday. Dubai Airports said passenger traffic in November reached 4,431,673, compared to 4,070,296 in November 2010, representing a rise of 8.9 percent. The year to date traffic reached 46,287,234, up 7.8 percent over the corresponding period in 2010, the operator added in a statement. The GCC recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in November (up 134,491), followed by the Indian subcontinent, Russia and the CIS, and Western Europe. The contraction in traffic on Middle Eastern routes continued in November (down by 17,538) as a result of the ongoing impact from the Arab Spring. Aircraft movements totalled 29,093 last month, up 8.5 percent from 26,823 recorded during the same month in 2010. The year to date flight movements increased by six percent to 296,799, the statement added. Freight growth during the month was flat with cargo volumes almost at par with the corresponding period last year. Dubai International handled 191,658 tonnes of freight in November, a marginal decrease of 0.4 percent while the year to date freight movement reached 1,999,898 tonnes, a drop of 1.7 percent. Jamal Al Hai, executive senior vice president, International Affairs and Communications, Dubai Airports said: "Considering that we have had an average monthly traffic of 4.2 million passengers in the first eleven months of 2011, we are well on track to surpass the historical figure of 50 million in annual traffic this year."