Abu Dhabi International Airport recorded a 10.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic in April despite many flights to and from Europe being grounded due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

The total volume of passenger traffic stood at 866,475 in April, compared to about 787,000 passengers in April 2009, according to figures released by Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac).

Aircraft movements increased 11.1 per cent compared to the same month the year before and cargo tonnage also increased significantly, rising 21.3 per cent year-on-year.

Most of April’s traffic travelled to five main destinations including London, Doha, Bangkok, Manila and Jeddah.

The US was the fastest growing country destination with a 160 per cent increase in passenger traffic since April 2009, which the airport attributes to the Abu Dhabi airline Etihad’s launch of Chicago flights.

Abu Dhabi Airport recorded a total of 2.6 million passengers in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 2.3 million in the first three months of 2009 (MEED 20:4:10).