Dubai airport arrivals take off
DUBAI – Dubai International recorded an increase of 19.5 per cent in passenger traffic in September, the highest monthly growth rate since October 2007 when passenger numbers jumped 25.9 per cent.
It is also the fourth consecutive month of double-digit passenger traffic growth.
The airport handled a total of 3.19 million passengers in September 2009 compared to 2.69m passengers during the corresponding period last year, lifting the year to date passenger throughput to 30 million passengers – up 7.9 per cent over 27.8m in 2008.
With an average monthly throughput of 3.2 million passengers so far this year, and expectations of a sustained growth in traffic during the fourth quarter, Dubai International is on track to break the 40 million passenger mark projected for 2009.
Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports CEO, said that Dubai International remains the only airport among the top ten airports worldwide in terms of international passenger to show positive growth in every quarter this year.
“We’re seeing strong growth across all regions,†said Griffiths. “We’ve seen a 35 percent increase in passengers travelling to and from Asia, a 21 percent rise in Western Europe and a 20 percent upsurge in our largest market, the Indian subcontinent.
“While many airports worldwide continue to see traffic shrink, in Dubai business is good.â€
Griffiths cites the seasonal impact of the Islamic holy month Ramadan and increasing tourist traffic as key factors behind September’s growth.
“It’s clear that even during an economic downturn tourists are finding the allure of Dubai hard to resist,†said Griffiths.
The Dubai Airshow is also expected to boost visitor numbers next month.
Running from November 15-19 at the Airport Expo, Dubai Airshow is expected to attract up to 900 exhibitors from nearly 50 countries, plus some 50,000 visitors, a 10 percent increase over the previous event in 2007.
Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport has sharply increased its projected capacity growth to 90 million passengers at the end of the next decade from its earlier target of 75 million.
The revision follows delays at the emirate’s second airport, the US$8.2 billion (Dh30.11bn) Al Maktoum International in Jebel Ali, which is scheduled to open for business next year.
Al Maktoum has been designed to become the world’s largest airport and the eventual home of Dubai’s fast-growing aviation industry, led by Emirates Airline.
The National newspaper said although limited services are set to open next year for phase one, with capacity of five million passengers a year, the completion date of the new airport – with a capacity of up to 160 million travellers a year and five runways – has been pushed back to the 2020s, one of many airport projects suffering from delays due to the global credit crisis.
This is putting more pressure on Dubai International to handle the growth of the emirate’s aviation sector over the next decade.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent