At the moment of writing this article on Tuesday, there were an estimated 7,177 flights in the sky, according to data from FlightRadar24.
This estimation is a lot lower in 2020 than it would have been in December of previous years. Typically, the festive season is a busy month for travel as people fly home for the holidays or head overseas for some last-minute winter sun. Unsurprisingly, this year's December air traffic across the world is down due to the global pandemic.
Since March, airports have witnessed a precipitous decline in traffic as governments ordered restrictions on movement, border closures and bans on non-essential travel. These measures have seen the world's airports shift from thriving hubs transporting people across the globe to much quieter places. And while air traffic has been tentatively picking up since countries began to reopen their borders, levels are still far from what they were.
Additional flight restrictions imposed by more than 40 countries on flights to and from the UK this week are a reminder that the industry's recovery has a long way to go.
Having ground the world to a halt, the coronavirus has been lethal for airlines across the globe. The world’s skies look very different this festive season compared to December last year.
Images and data collected from flight tracking service FlightRadar24 show how some of the world’s busiest airspaces are faring.
Each of the below visualisations shows air traffic from Thursday, December 5, 2019 – the busiest day of travel in last year’s festive season. This is correlated with the closest Thursday in this year's calendar, December 3, 2020.
Slide the buttons below to see the difference in air traffic at nine of the world's busiest airports.
Dubai International Airport, UAE
Emirates said it was expecting its busiest week of the year in December when more than 200,000 people were set to fly from DXB.
Abu Dhabi International Airport, UAE
With 14 days quarantine currently required for arriving passengers, Abu Dhabi's December air traffic is considerably lower in 2020 than it was in 2019.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, The Netherlands
Air traffic has been low at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol this year. In November, the airport recorded 900,453 passengers, compared to 5,323,590 in 2019, a drop of more than 83 per cent.
Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport, United States
The world’s busiest airport by passenger numbers has stayed open throughout the global pandemic, but has become something of a ghost town as air traffic plummeted.
Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India
Despite an overall drop in passenger demand, officials at Delhi airport said in early December that numbers were expected to return to pre-lockdown volumes soon. This was before India banned flights to and from the UK in response to a new strain of Covid-19.
London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom
The UK's biggest airport and one of Europe's busiest by international passenger traffic, London Heathrow has seen a significant drop in air traffic this year. Having welcomed 6,495,487 passengers in December 2019, 2020 numbers are projected to be well below this figure.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, United States
Chicago O'Hare International airport recorded a 41 per cent drop in flight numbers this year compared to 2019, according to the latest reported figures from airport authorities.
Changi International Airport, Singapore
Singapore’s Changi Airport was the world’s seventh-busiest airport before the pandemic hit. Today, with a market that relies on international travel, it is welcoming fewer passengers than when it opened its first terminal almost 40 years ago.
As 2020 draws to a close, the aviation industry and travellers around the world will be hopeful that by the same time next year, air traffic comparisons with 2019 festive traffic will be much less drastic.
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The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
RESULTS
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MEYDAN%20RACECARD
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Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
more from Janine di Giovanni
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m
Winner: Arjan, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Jap Nazaa, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi.
6pm: Al Ruwais Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 1,200m
Winner: RB Lam Tara, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinal.
6.30pm: Shadwell Gold Cup Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Sanad, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
7pm: Shadwell Farm Stallions Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Canal, Harry Bentley, Satish Seemar.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
New schools in Dubai