Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, saw passenger numbers rise 8.2 per cent in September, a report said.

According to a traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports, passenger traffic in September totalled 6,432,654, compared to 5.9 million recorded during September 2014. Year to date traffic rose 12 per cent to 58,696,877 compared to 52,422,547 recorded during the first nine months of 2014.

Aircraft movements totalled 34,146 during September, an increase of 10.6 per cent from the 30,871 recorded during the same month last year. Year to date aircraft movements surged 17.2 to 302,399 compared to 257,981 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 September came in at 198, while the year to date figure remained a high 203 – driven by the Emirates’ fleet of wide-body aircraft, which makes it the world’s largest operator of A380s and Boeing 777s.

Eastern Europe (+62.7 per cent) topped all markets in terms of percentage* passenger growth, followed by the GCC (+18.4 per cent), which was mainly driven by growth in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar; and North America (+17.4 per cent) – as a result of Emirates increasing capacity on several routes and launch of additional daily flights to both New York and Seattle.

In terms of overall passenger traffic, the GCC (+173,146) was the top market during the month, closely followed by the Indian subcontinent (+131,742).

Air freight volumes recorded a marginal increase of 0.3 per cent in September with volumes of 207,315 tonnes compared to 206,643 recorded during the same month last year. Year-to-date cargo traffic totalled 1,853,130 tonnes, up 2.6 per cent from the 1,806,449 tonnes shipped during the first nine months last year.

“Passenger and cargo traffic growth has been fairly robust during the first three quarters this year and with major events such as the Dubai Airshow and the Dubai Shopping Festival lined up over the coming months, we expect the trend to continue throughout the remainder of the year. We are pleased to be all set for another year of record growth,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. – TradeArabia News Service