Dubai International airport breaks new record

24 September 2013

Passenger numbers edge closer to 6 million target

Dubai International airport’s monthly passenger figures almost reached 6 million in August, making it the busiest month at the airport to date.

According to the latest traffic figures from airport operator Dubai Airports, a total of 5,999,375 passengers passed through the airport in August. This surge in traffic marks a year-on-year increase of 23.8 per cent on the same month last year.

The airport was “barely two A380s short” of hitting the milestone of 6 million passengers, according to Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports.

Passengers volumes were boosted by the large number of people travelling for Ramadan and Eid celebrations. The continued growth in passenger numbers sees Dubai International edge closer to being the world’s busiest airport. In March this year, Dubai overtook Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport as the second busiest airport in the world in March. London’s Heathrow maintains its position as the busiest airport, with a total of 6.9 million passengers recorded in August.

Dubai International also reported a hike in cargo volumes, increasing by over 8 per cent to 1.58 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2013, compared to the same time period in 2012.

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