Passenger traffic hit eight million at Dubai International Airport in January, marking a 9.7 percent increase over the 7.3 million passengers using the airport in the same month in 2016.
The rise in the first month of 2017 was supported by the holiday season as well as the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, Gulf News quoted operator Dubai Airports on Wednesday as saying.
It also reportedly follows the airport’s performance in 2016 during which passenger traffic reached 83.6 million.
The figures were a positive start to the year, which he expected to be “another record-breaking year” for the airport, Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports, reportedly said.
“It provides further impetus to our DXB Plus Program, which will enhance service and boost capacity at DXB by applying technology to improved processes,” he was quoted as saying.
In January, routes to the Indian subcontinent topped the list of destinations, with nearly 1.9 million passengers flying there. They were followed by routes to Western Europe, which carried 1.7 million passengers, and routes to GCC states carrying 1.36 million passengers, the report said.
In terms of passenger traffic to individual destinations, London topped the list, followed by Doha, Kuwait, and Mumbai.
Eastern Europe remained the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth, with passenger figures up 32.5 percent, according to the figures from Dubai Airports. It was followed by Asia (up 26.4 percent), South America (up 18.6 percent), and Australasia (up 15.8 percent), said the news portal.
Freight volumes at Dubai International also registered growth in January, with a 3.4 percent increase year-on-year to reach 208,271, reported Gulf News.
