The passenger numbers at Dubai International, the world’s fourth busiest hub for international traffic, increased 10.4 per cent year on year according to the monthly traffic report for May issued today by airport operator Dubai Airports.

The passenger traffic surged to 4.38 million in May compared to 3.97 million passengers who passed through the airport during the same month last year.

Accoring to Dubai Airports, the strong performance in the first five months of the year has propelled the year-to-date traffic to 23.2 million, up 13.2 per cent over 20.5 million passengers recorded during the corresponding period in 2011.

The Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (AGCC) recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in May (with over 105,052 passengers), followed by Africa (over 61,306), Western Europe (over 57,602) and the Indian subcontinent (with more than 55,330).

In terms of percentage growth, traffic on South American routes surged 114.2 per cent, albeit from a low base. Russia and CIS benefited from flydubai’s ongoing expansion into that region with traffic increasing 43.7 per cent, the monthly report said.

Middle East passenger traffic continues to be affected  by the instability in the region with a contraction of 2.5 per cent in May, it added.

The aircraft movements for the month totalled 28,304, thus registering an increase of 5 per cent compared to 26,969 movements recorded during the same period last year.

The number of year to date aircraft movements reached 142,821 compared with 133,271 recorded during the corresponding period in 2011, an increase of 7.2 per cent.

In terms of cargo volumes Dubai International handled 187,638 tonnes of air freight in May, a contraction of 0.1 per cent compared to 187,905 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2011.

The year to date freight volume has reached 891,464 tonnes, up 1.4 per cent over 879,359 tonnes for the corresponding period last year, the report added.

Commenting on the growth, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said Dubai International has had a strong showing in terms of passenger traffic so far this year with double-digit growth recorded in four of the first five months.

'With forecast suggesting the growth trend to continue during the second half of the year, we are well on track to achieve the projected traffic of 56.5 million by the end of 2012,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service