Air passengers continue the Dubai surge as records set to tumble

Passenger traffic through Dubai Airport surged to 4.3 million in October showing a 7.3% growth on the previous year - despite the economic downturn across Europe.

Through the first ten months of the year passenger numbers totalled 41,855,561, an increase of 7.7% over the corresponding period in 2010.

Aviation consultant Saj Ahmad commented:" "What's clear from these impressive monthly traffic figures is that passengers are voting with their money and using the Dubai as a platform for their onward travel as well as visiting the city as a getaway destination, thanks in large part to the UAE having already sailed through a storm of economic pressures two-to-three years ago.”

Aircraft movements for October reached 28,463 up 7.2% from 26,558 recorded during the same month in 2010.

Ahmad said: ”With passenger numbers almost 8% higher year on year, Dubai International Airport is well on track to challenge the lies of BAA's London Heathrow Airport for the coveted top slots of the most international passengers travelling through their doors. While billions have been set aside for infrastructure growth to cope with the ever-rising numbers of passengers, Al-Maktoum International Airport's development will no doubt be thrust back into the spotlight.

“Already we've seen plans for that airport scaled back slightly from having five parallel runways instead of six, but irrespective, this new airport will provide much needed capacity for the city as passenger numbers swell,” he said

Ahmad said the investment now could be proved to be a sensible move. “Dubai thus far has been a unique city with just one major airport and clearly with this sort of growth in an economically challenged environment, the omens for the future when growth returns means that expansion has to take place now to cater for that demand - with several billion dollars earmarked for Dubai International Airport already, the long term focus for the Dubai Government must be Al-Maktoum International Airport,” he said

“There's little question over Dubai Airports and Al-Maktoum International Airports ability to consume and digest this demand, the real challenge lies with getting the latter airport fully operation so that the airspace over Dubai increases to allow further flights and better competition."

Air freight traffic didn’t fare so well. Dubai International handled 197,841 tonnes of freight in October, a reduction of 2.5% from last year. Year to date freight volumes reached 1,808,239 tonnes, down 1.8% compared to 1,841,422 tonnes the previous year.

In a statement Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said: “New routes, additional frequencies and extra capacity continue to drive passenger traffic growth at the Dubai. And we continue to break records. In October, Dubai International achieved yet another milestone by passing the 50 million passenger mark over a 12 month period for the first time."