The year to date cargo movement reached 1.199 million tonnes, up from 1.197 million tonnes during the same period in 2008, showing a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent. By comparison, Airports Council International (ACI) reports global volumes for international airfreight are down 20 per cent year to date.
Dubai International also recorded double-digit growth in passenger traffic for the third consecutive month with Dubai Airports announcing a 10.7 per cent jump in passenger numbers during August. This follows increases of 10.3 per cent in June and 12.6 per cent in July.
Dubai handled a total of 3,729,879 passengers in August 2009 as compared to 3,368,260 during the corresponding month last year. The airport’s monthly passenger throughput exceeded the 3.7 million mark for the second time this year, following the record-breaking 3.76 million passengers recorded in July.
Consistent growth during the first eight months of 2009 has seen the year to date passenger traffic reach 26,878,331, as compared to 25,182,526 for the corresponding period in 2008, an increase of 6.7 per cent. This contrasts dramatically with the seven per cent contraction seen in international passengers worldwide year-to-date as reported by ACI. Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO said that Dubai International’s sustained growth supports projections for a record-breaking year for the region’s leading airport.
“The end of the summer also marks the beginning of high-season for tourists which puts Dubai International on track to set a new record of 40.5 million passengers by year end,†said Griffiths.
Dubai Airports recently released a traffic forecast which projects an 8.3 per cent increase in passenger numbers in 2009 and a 13.6 per cent rise in 2010.
