Passenger traffic at Dubai International rose 4.4 per cent in October, according to a traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.
Passenger numbers in October rose 6,250,810, compared to 5,989,007 recorded in October of last year.
Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Airport, Paul Griffiths, “Traffic continues its steady climb as we approach the end of what will be another record year for both cargo and passenger numbers.”
Year to date traffic rose 11.2 per cent to 64,947,687 compared to 58,411,554 recorded during the same period last year.
On the other hand aircraft movements rose to 34,917 during October, up 6.5 per cent from the 32,798 recorded during the same month last in 2014.
Year to date aircraft movements were up 16 per cent to 337,316 compared to 290,779 recorded during the corresponding period in 2014 due primarily to the impact of the 80-day runway upgrade programme conducted last year.
Passengers per aircraft movement in October came in at 188, while the year to date figure remained a high 202 driven by the Emirates’ fleet of wide-body aircraft.
Eastern Europe topped all markets in terms of percentage passenger growth, followed by North America plus 19.4 per cent, as a result of Emirates increasing capacity on several routes and launch of additional daily flights to both New York and Seattle and Africa plus 7.8 per cent. In terms of overall passenger traffic, the Indian sub-continent was the top market during the month plus 87,015, closely followed by Western Europe with plus 80,047.
India remained the top country for passenger numbers. U.K., Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and U.S.A rounded out the top five.
Air freight traffic was up 7.6 per cent for the month with volumes of 215,714 tonnes compared to 200,435 tonnes recorded during the same month last year.
Year-to-date cargo traffic rose to 2,068,844 tonnes, representing 3.1 per cent from the 2,006,884 tonnes shipped during the first ten months of last year.