Passenger traffic at Dubai airport grows

Dubai Airports, operator of the Middle East's largest airline hub, Dubai International Airport, said passenger traffic during the first nine months of 2011 grew by 7.8 per cent to 37.54 million over the corresponding period last year. Its passenger traffic in September rose 6.2 per cent to 4,236,587 compared to 3,988,804 in the same month in 2010. Passengers from the GCC accounted for the largest increase in September (up 169,445), followed by Western Europe (up 36,916), South Asia (up 29,261), and Russia and the CIS (up 23,431). The contraction in traffic on Middle Eastern routes continued in September (down 53,368 passengers), while traffic on African routes was slightly lower (down 2,048). The strongest markets in terms of percentage growth were Russia (up 33.9 per cent) driven by flydubai's expansion in the region, the GCC (up 31.9 per cent) as a result of growth in traffic to Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe (up 18.7 per cent) and North America (up 17.6 per cent) as both demand and capacity increased on routes to Los Angeles, Houston and New York. Aircraft movements in September totalled 26,860, up 6.8 per cent from 25,145 in the same month in 2010. Dubai International handled 177,128 tonnes of freight in September, down 5.5 per cent from 187,390 tonnes in the same period in 2010 as volumes continue to reflect economic uncertainty and weak consumer confidence. The year to date freight volumes reached 1,610,398 tonnes, a marginal fall of 1.7 per cent compared to the 1,638,438 tonnesin the corresponding period last year. "We have had a good year so far in terms of passenger traffic and with the Haj just a few days away, we expect to see already robust passenger numbers surge over the coming weeks," said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. "Customer service is always a top priority for us and we are well prepared to ensure smooth passenger flow across our terminals during the Haj.