Dubai International Airport retained its position as the world's busiest for international passengers in December, ahead of major hubs such as London Heathrow and spurred on by the rebound of Emirates airline.
The monthly rankings by aviation consultancy OAG were calculated using airlines' international seat capacity and international flight frequency in December 2022, compared with the same month in 2019 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dubai held on to the top spot of busiest airport for international flights in December, with 4.6 million seats, an increase of 8 per cent compared with November, and just over one million seats more than the next busiest airport, London Heathrow, OAG said in its monthly World's Busiest Airports report.
Dubai and London Heathrow were also in first and second place respectively in 2019.
Dubai International Airport handled 18.5 million passengers in the third quarter of this year, more than doubling year on year amid a bigger-than-expected rebound from the pandemic, according to operator Dubai Airports.
This was first time that quarterly traffic reached pre-pandemic levels since 2020, with the figure higher than the 17.8 million passengers who travelled through the airport in the first quarter of 2020 before the onset of Covid-19.
The airport recorded average monthly traffic exceeding the six million mark throughout the third quarter.
Paris Charles de Gaulle, Istanbul Airport and Singapore Changi Airport rounded off the top five busiest international airports, the data showed.
South Korea's Incheon Airport increased capacity by 19 per cent this month compared to last month, marking the biggest increase in the top-10-ranked hubs. This has moved Incheon up one place to ninth for international flights.
Out of the top 10 busiest international airports this month, eight were in the top 10 in December 2019 as well. The airports that have seen their rankings rise, bringing them into the top 10 now, are Doha (up from 13th to eighth place) and Madrid (up from 14th to 10th position).
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson retained its dominance in December in the world's top 10 busiest global airports ranking, which takes into account domestic and international capacity. Dubai does not have a domestic air travel market.
The top 10 busiest airports in the world rankings are calculated using total flight seat capacity (domestic and international) and the top10 busiest international airports are calculated using international seats only.
Atlanta continued to be the world’s busiest airport with 4.7 million seats, a 1 per cent increase compared to last month, according to OAG estimates.
Dubai and Tokyo Haneda airports remain in second and third places, respectively, with Dubai increasing capacity between November and December 2022 by 8 per cent and Tokyo Haneda by 7 per cent.
Dubai government safety measures, cooler weather, a growing list of tourist attractions and people's desire to travel after two years of lockdowns are among other factors making Dubai an attractive destination for visitors, Dubai Airports' chief executive Paul Griffiths said in an interview last month.
The recovery at the airport, a hub for Emirates airline, continued, with strong travel demand registered during the peak summer season as international borders reopened and coronavirus restrictions eased.
The Gulf hub benefitted from running smooth operations, compared with some major European airports that were left reeling from delays that caused widespread disruption as demand roared back after the pandemic.
London Heathrow remains in fourth place with a 4 per cent increase in capacity this month and Dallas Fort Worth is in fifth place with a 5 per cent capacity rise, according to OAG data.
Delhi moved up three places to seventh rank with a 6 per cent increase in capacity this month.
Chicago, Los Angeles and Istanbul airports have all moved down one place to eighth, ninth and 10th from Delhi moving up.
The airports which have seen their rankings rise, bringing them into the top 10 in December include Dallas Fort Worth (from 14th to fifth), Denver Airport (from 20th to sixth) and Istanbul Airport (from 19th to 10th), OAG said.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Saudi Cup race card
1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000
2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000
3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000
4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000
5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000
6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000
7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000
8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
