UAE. Dubai International welcomed a record 7.7 million passengers in August, eclipsing its previous record achieved in July, according to operator Dubai Airports.
Passenger traffic reached 7,727,105, an increase of +6.1% year-on-year. For the year to date, traffic totalled 55,850,353, up +6.9%.
Eastern Europe, spurred by additional capacity and new services launched by a number of carriers including Emirates and flydubai, was the fastest-expanding market in terms of percentage growth (+67.9%), followed by Asia (+13%), South America (+11.7%), and the Indian Subcontinent (+11.7%). India remained the top destination country (924,256 passengers), followed by the UK (584,508) and Saudi Arabia (535,280).
Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports
London was the top destination city with 371,320 passengers followed closely by Doha (252,616) and Kuwait (240,712). Baku (+284.5%) topped the list of cities in terms of percentage growth, followed by Mashhad (+118.6%) and Boston (+88.2%) – growth on all routes boosted by increased capacity.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said: “Consecutive months with record-breaking traffic is a great way to mark the 56th anniversary of DXB which occurred last week. Looking back it’s astonishing to see how quickly a tiny airport that was once a refuelling stop for airlines has turned into the world’s number one international hub. Over these five-and-a-half decades, Dubai International has welcomed more than three quarters of a billion passengers.
“As we continue to grow, our focus will continue to [be to] operate not only the world’s busiest airports but also the world’s best in terms of customer service.”
