Propelled by a double-digit surge in traffic in June, passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport (DXB) topped 43.7 million in the first half of 2018, according to the traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

DXB handled a total of 43,739,105 passengers during the first half, up 1.6 per cent compared to 43,054,268 passengers recorded during the corresponding period in 2017. Monthly traffic in June surged 11.7 per cent to 6,795,492 passengers compared to 6,084,674 recorded in June 2017 – thanks largely to the impact of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on traffic last year.

All the major markets registered robust growth during June with routes to CIS topping the list with traffic growing 50.6 per cent followed by Eastern Europe (33.6 per cent), Africa (20 per cent) and North America (16.9 per cent). In terms of passenger volume, India was the top destination country during the month with 968,931 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (504,968), the UK (454477), Pakistan (349,633) and the US (291,391). London topped the list of top city destinations during the month with 280,941 passengers, followed by Mumbai (195,213 passengers) and New Delhi (173,820).

Flight movements in June totalled 32,805 up 6.4 per cent compared to 30,841 recorded during June 2017. The year to date flight movements were down 2 per cent to 201,784 compared to 205,998 recorded during the first six months of 2017.

The average number of passengers per flight during the month stood at 213 compared to 203 during the same month in 2017, a growth of 4.9 per cent.

Dubai International handled a total of 214,612 tonnes of cargo during June, a marginal contraction of 0.5 per cent compared to 215,668 recorded during the month last year. The year to date cargo totalled 1,268,161 tonnes, compared to 1,302,911 tonnes, down 2.7 per cent. - TradeArabia News Service