Passenger numbers at Dubai International airport have exceeded 4.5 million for the seventh time this year, according to the August traffic report from the operator Dubai Airports.

Compared with August 2011, passenger traffic has increased by 20 per cent, rising from 4.2 million to 4.85 million. The high growth rate resulted from particularly low volumes of traffic recorded in August last year due to the fluctuating travel patterns explained by Ramadan. Nevertheless, overall passenger numbers at Dubai International continue to climb upwards, rising by 13.4 per cent for the year to date compared with the same period in 2011.  

In August, the GCC region emerged as the region with the largest growth in passenger numbers, followed by Western Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.

The airport saw moderate growth in cargo volumes in August, with freight volumes totalling 190,770, up 4.4 per cent compared with 182,782 tonnes of air freight recorded during the same period last year.

For the year to date, freight volumes reached 1.48 million tonnes, up 3 per cent over the 1.44 million tonnes recorded for the corresponding period in 2011.

Dubai International airport is the world’s fourth-busiest hub for international passengers and freight for the past 12 months, according to Airports Council International rankings.