Dubai International clocks 15.4% traffic surge in March
Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly
Passenger traffic at Dubai International w
itnessed a double-digit growth for the month of March according to the monthly traffic report issued by Dubai Airports.
Passenger traffic in March reached 4,848,320, an increase of 15.4% compared to 4,201,708 during the corresponding month in 2011. March is the third consecutive month for Dubai International with passenger numbers exceeding the 4.5 million mark, propelling traffic in the first quarter to 14,261,606, a surge of 16.1% over the same period last year.
Buoyed by traffic growth in the region following the increasing liberalisation of the Saudi Arabian aviation sector, the AGCC continued to top the list of regions with the largest increase in total passenger numbers (+174,537 passengers), followed by Western Europe (+109,364), and Africa (+90,057). Contraction on Middle Eastern routes continued in March (-23,030 passengers) owing to instability in certain parts of the region.
South America has remained the strongest market in terms of percentage passenger growth* (+90.9%) as a result of new Emirates services to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, followed by Russia and CIS (+47.4%), and Australasia (+40.7%).
Traffic to and from Africa also rose dramatically (+25.7%) due to the addition of Harare and Lusaka to Emirates’ route network.
During the month under review, Dubai International recorded a total of 29,276 aircraft movements, up 5.8% compared to 27,674 in March 2011. The year to date movements increased 7.9% to reach 86,014, compared to 79,705 recorded during the first quarter in 2011.
