Dubai airport passenger traffic up 9.9% in September

Only one runway was in operation during the 80-day runway refurbishment, reducing the Dubai airport’s capacity by 26 per cent.

Dubai International was named Sleeping in Airports’ Best Airport in the Middle East for the second year running. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport rose 9.9 per cent last month, after runway repairs lasting nearly three months were finally finished.

Dubai Airports reported that passenger traffic reached 5.9 million in September, compared with 5.4m during the same month last year. Passenger volume during the nine-month period also rose at 6.2 per cent to 52.4m from 49.3m in the same period last year.

“The airport’s performance in the first three quarters has been very satisfying and we anticipate brisk growth will continue as we head down the home stretch to year-end,” said Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports. “Clearly, more and more people are choosing Dubai as their preferred hub not only for the extensive network of 260 destinations that we connect around the world, but also for the wide array of options we offer our customers for dining, shopping and resting.”

Only one runway was in operation during the 80-day runway refurbishment, reducing the airport’s capacity by 26 per cent.

Eastern Europe was the fastest growing market in September, followed by North America and South America. The Indian subcontinent meanwhile was the leader in terms of growth in overall passenger numbers, followed by Western Europe and Asia.

Cargo movement also rose last month, with 202,415 tonnes passing through the facility compared with 196,823 tonnes during the same month last year. The shift of freighter flights to Dubai World Central meanwhile resulted in a 1.7 per cent fall in year-to-date cargo traffic to 1.763m tonnes from 1.793m tonnes last year.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter