Dubai International (DXB) saw 7.2 million customers pass through its doors in September as traffic at the world’s busiest international hub rose to 67.5 million for the year.
 
Traffic was down slightly (-0.2 per cent) in September versus last year due to the fact that Eid Al Adha holidays, a period of high traffic, fell in September 2017.
 
It was the sixth time this year that DXB’s monthly traffic surpassed the 7 million mark, helping finish off the third quarter with 23.8 million customers, up 1 per cent.
 
Key facts and figures

Customers served: 7,197,866 in September (- 0.2 per cent) taking DXB’s year to date numbers to 67,521,436 (+1.4 per cent).
 
Baggage volumes: 6 million bags (+1.12 per cent) passed through the airport’s sophisticated 175 km long baggage system during the month.
 
Waiting Times: Smart Gate technology at DXB helps speed customers through immigration while a state-of-the-art operations centre leverages real-time information to improve service and efficiency, leading to a reduction of 28 per cent* in wait times during September.
 
Top destinations

DXB leverages its geocentric location to connect the world and continues to welcome people from all over the globe.
 
India remained DXB’s top destination country by customer volume, with total traffic reaching 957,748 during the month. The UK was the second with 538,199 customers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 454,929 customers. Other markets of note include Australia (256,848), US (252,264 customers) and China (208,822).
 
The top three cities were London (329,778 customers), Mumbai (199,829) and New Delhi (170,122).
 
The fastest growing regions were North America, up by 15.2 per cent, Africa up 10.9 per cent and CIS growing 6.8 per cent.  
 
Flights

Flight movements during the month increased to 33,610 (+1.4 per cent). The average number of customers per flight was 221, down marginally (-1.3 per cent).
 
A total of 306,210 flights have taken-off or landed at DXB (-0.5 per cent) so far this year, bringing the total number of flight movements at DXB per day to 1,125.
 
Cargo

In September 221,213 tonnes of airfreight was handled at DXB (+1.9 per cent) bringing total cargo tonnage for the year to 1,932,492 (-1.3 per cent). – TradeArabia News Service