Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the UAE recorded a 6% rise in passenger traffic in July 2012, with over five million passengers (5,006,155), surpassing an earlier record of 4.85 million set in January 2012 and 4.72 million passengers during the same month in 2011.
According to the monthly traffic report released by DXB's operator Dubai Airports, the highest regional passenger traffic growth was recorded on Western Europe routes with 106,926 passengers, followed by Africa with 41,990, the Indian subcontinent with 41,706 and 40,840 passengers on routes to and from Asia.
Passenger traffic on South America, Russia and CIS, and Australasia routes reported the highest percentage growth with rises of 82.6%, 38.6% and 16.4% respectively during July, when compared to 2011.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said this is yet another record for Dubai International and one that we had anticipated based on the growth trends in the first half of the year.
"Since 2009 average monthly traffic at Dubai International has skyrocketed from just under 3.5 million in 2009 to over 4.7 million in 2012," Griffiths said.
Traffic fluctuations during Ramadan impacted passenger growth on Gulf, which registered a 0.1% rise, in contrast to Middle Eastern traffic which declined 9.2% during July.
Dubai airport reported a 12.4% rise in its year-to-date passenger traffic to 32.93 million when compared to 29.29 million recorded during the same period in 2011.
Aircraft movements rose 2.4% to 27,829, up from 2011's 27,166, while year-to-date aircraft movements increased 6.2% to 198,078, when compared to 186,538 movements during the corresponding period in 2011.
Dubai International reported a 6.2% rise in its cargo volumes during July, with 204,510t, up from the 192,538t handled during the 2011 period.
The airport's year-to-date freight volume increased 2.8% to 1,290,966t, when compared to 1,255,262t.
"By 2018, when we expect to complete the expansion of Dubai International that will soar to just under 170 passengers per minute" Griffiths said.
"That is why we are investing $7.8 billion in the future of this airport.
"In turn that investment will drive an increase in aviation's contributions to Dubai's GDP from the current $22 billion to 45.4 billion in 2020."
Image: Dubai Airports is investing $7.8bn for the future of DXB. Photo: courtesy of Dubai Airports.
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