Dubai International Airport has registered a double-digit year-on-year increase for both passenger and freight traffic during November. The passenger numbers rose 12.6 per cent marking the sixth consecutive month of double-digit growth.

The airport handled a total of 3,520,287 passengers in November 2009 compared to 3,125,351 passengers during the same month last year, raising the year to date passenger throughput to 37,085,392 – up 8.5 per cent over the first 11 months of 2008, said a top official.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman of Dubai Airports and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group, said with such record growth, Dubai International Airport continues to be an oasis of good news for global aviation.

Sheikh Ahmed pointed out that Dubai’s traffic upsurge contrasts dramatically with the global situation.

'The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) most recent traffic data shows that 2009 global international passenger traffic year to date is down 4.7 per cent while cargo is off 14.9 per cent,' he noted.

“Aviation is one of Dubai’s many success stories. Dubai is home to one of the world’s fastest growing airports and one of its fastest growing airlines in Emirates. The continued exceptional expansion in passenger and cargo traffic sends a strong positive signal about the health of this sector and the local economy,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

The market segments that saw the highest traffic increases included North America, Australasia and Asia, he added.

Cargo too continued its turnaround with the second consecutive month of double-digit increases in freight traffic with volumes surging 19.6 per cent during November, Sheikh Ahmed said.

'Dubai Airports Cargo handled 191,897 tonnes of freight in November compared to 160,488 tonnes during the same month last year. Year to date cargo volumes reached 1.74 million tonnes compared to 1.68 million tonnes during the same period in 2008, up 3.9 per cent.'

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, 'We are bullish about our future prospects and expect to hit record levels of traffic this year with 40.6 million passengers and again next year with over 46 million passengers.'

Dubai International is the sixth busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger traffic numbers and fourth business in terms of international cargo volumes.

'In the longer term, we expect to crack the 100 million passenger mark before the end of the next decade so investment in the infrastructure needed to support this growth will continue unabated. That includes plans for building Concourse 3 the world’s first dedicated A380 facility and Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service