Year-to-date traffic at Dubai World Central (DWC) reached 1.27 million as a result of the temporary flight operations launched during the 45-day renovation programme of Dubai International airport’s (DXB) southern runway during April and May this year.

However, third quarter 2019 passenger numbers dropped by 81.6 per cent when compared to third quarter 2018 figures to reach 21,926.

In a statement, Dubai Airports, the authority that owns and manages DXB, said the decline in DWC’s third-quarter traffic rates was “mainly due to seasonal fluctuation in traffic during the summer".

DWC’s cargo handling activity was also impacted by the continued “softening of demand in the cargo sector", according to Dubai Airports, revealing that the airport had handled 226,830 tonnes of cargo in the third quarter of 2019 – 10.8 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Airport numbers game

The airport's year-to-date cargo handling volume was also reduced by 7.2 per cent year-on-year to reach 676,830 tonnes.

A total of 5,948 flights were recorded at DWC during the third quarter of 2019, marking a 3.6 per cent improvement during the period. Year-to-date flight numbers grew 28.7 per cent to reach 28,078 at the end of September.

South Asia was the largest contributor of traffic at DWC during the first nine months of 2019, accounting for 379,851 customers.

Passengers from the CIS countries (313,167) and GCC (281,184) regions followed South Asian visitors.

Al-Naboodah Construction Group carried out the refurbishment of DXB's southern runway, with Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects overseeing the scheme.

The runway's closure led to a 5.6 per cent decline in passenger numbers at DXB during the first half of 2019, Dubai Airports said in a statement this August.