DIA registers 6.6 million passengers

Dubai International Airport registered 6.6 million passengers for August 2014 which was a bounce back from a three-month slump.

The monthly passenger traffic at Dubai International reached 6,648,058 in August 2014, up 10.8% compared to 5,999,375 recorded in 2013. The hub returned to full operational capacity in August following a runway upgrade project that reduced the airport to a single runway for 80 days and cut capacity by 26%. The year to date passenger traffic as at the end of August totalled 46,479,919, an increase of 5.7% compared to the 43,971,839 passengers recorded during the first eight months of 2013.

The Indian subcontinent topped the list of regions with largest growth in passenger numbers (+147,096 passengers), followed by Western Europe (+131,095), Asia (+98,089), the AGCC (+69,223) and Africa (+64,451 passengers). *The top regions in terms of percentage growth in traffic included North America (28.9%), and Asia (19.2%).

Aircraft movements during August totalled 31,214 movements, a marginal increase of 0.1% from the 31,198 recorded during the corresponding month in 2013. During the first eight months of the year aircraft movements totalled 227,110, down 6.4% from 242,571 movements recorded between January and August last year, reflecting the impact of the runway closure period. Average passengers per movement during August increased to 219.7, up 5.2% from 208.9 recorded during the same month last year, reflecting a move by airlines to larger aircraft.