Dubai Airports the holding and management company for both of Dubai’s airports – Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC), released figures for DXB marking an increase of 10.4 per cent year on year according to the monthly traffic report for May.

Passenger traffic reached 4,388,614 in May 2012 compared to the 3,976,633 passengers who passed through the airport during the same month in 2011. The strong performance in the first five months of the year has propelled the year to date traffic to 23,216,893, an increase of 13.2 per cent over 20,502,009 passengers recorded during the corresponding period in 2011. 

The Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) member countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE)  recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in May (+105,052 passengers), followed by Africa (+61,306), Western Europe (+57,602) and the Indian subcontinent (+55,330). In terms of percentage growth, traffic on South American routes surged 114.2 per cent*, albeit from a low base.  Russia and CIS benefited from flydubai’s ongoing expansion into that region with traffic increasing 43.7 per cent. Middle East passenger traffic continues to be affected  by the instability in the region with a contraction of 2.5 per cent in May.

Aircraft movements for the month totalled 28,304, an increase of 5 per cent compared to the 26,969 movements recorded during the same period last year. The number of year to date aircraft movements reached 142,821 compared with 133,271 recorded during the corresponding period in 2011, an increase of 7.2 per cent.

In terms of cargo volumes Dubai International handled 187,638 tonnes of air freight in May, a contraction of 0.1 per cent compared to 187,905 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2011. The year to date freight volume has reached 891,464 tonnes, up 1.4 per cent over 879,359 tonnes for the corresponding period last year.

Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports' chief executive officer said, “Dubai International has had a strong showing in terms of passenger traffic so far this year with double-digit growth recorded in four of the first five months. With forecast suggesting the growth trend to continue during the second half of the year, we are well on track to achieve the projected traffic of 56.5 million by the end of 2012.” 

*Total passenger number statistics indicate the largest passenger volume increases that impact overall traffic figures. Percentage growth strictly reflects the proportional increase and should not be confused with overall passenger numbers as the base traffic figures can be smaller.