Dubai International Airport has recorded a 25 per cent surge in year-on-year passenger numbers and an 11.3 per cent rise in international freight volumes during September.

For the second consecutive month passenger numbers fell just short of the 4 million mark at 3,988,804 up 25 per cent last month compared to the same period last year when 3,190,408 passengers passed through the facility.

Year to date passenger traffic is up 15.8 per cent as 34,838,359 passengers have passed through Dubai International compared to 30,091,431 during the corresponding period last year.

The largest increases in total passenger numbers in September were recorded on routes to and from Western Europe (+149,510 passengers), the Indian subcontinent (+148,329 passengers), GCC countries (+140,974) and Africa (+84,317 passengers).

The largest percentage passenger traffic growth was seen on routes to and from Eastern Europe (247 per cent), GCC countries (36 per cent), Asia and Asia Pacific (33 per cent), Africa (25 per cent) and Western Europe (23 per cent).

Cargo volumes saw double-digit growth for the twelfth consecutive month as September traffic rose 11.3 per cent to 187,390 tonnes compared to 168,335 tonnes recorded during the same period last year.

Volumes for both exports and transit freight volumes rose during the period while imports were down slightly. Year to date cargo volumes total 1,685,634 tonnes compared to 1,366,881 tonnes during the same period in 2009, up 24 per cent.

“We are seeing expansion across the board, not only from our usual top flight destinations such as India, the UK, Iran and Germany but we are also seeing significant increases in passenger traffic to and from the US, China and Australia,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, which owns and manages both Dubai International as well as the upcoming Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International.

“Clearly Dubai’s aviation model is working. Open skies, supportive government policies, Dubai’s attractiveness as a business and leisure destination as well as its ideal location as a convenient global transit point are behind this impressive growth,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service