Abu Dhabi Airports Reports Strong October

Passenger throughput at Abu Dhabi International Airport continues to grow at double digit rates of growth, with October experiencing a 17.2 per cent increase compared to the same month last year, according to the latest statistics from Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC). The total number of passengers passing through Abu Dhabi International Airport during the month reached 1,058,979, thanks to new air services and a strong impact from Hajj pilgrimage traffic. For the year to date (January 1, 2011 – October 31, 2011) passenger numbers are up 13 per cent to 10.1 million.

“What remains a positive factor for us is the October growth came from both O&D and transfer traffic, with O&D increasing at 18.8 per cent and transfer at 16.4 per cent,” said Amir Abu Ganaya, Senior Traffic Analyst, ADAC. “This clearly highlights the continued attraction of Abu Dhabi as both a business and leisure destination as well as a connecting hub.”

London remains Abu Dhabi’s single largest destination from the airport ahead of Doha, Bangkok, Manila and Frankfurt. All top five destinations showed a positive growth in October, ranging from 35 per cent to/from Doha to the six per cent recorded by Bangkok, a figure that was almost certainly impacted marginally by the flooding in the Thai capital. According to ADAC, the total traffic for the top five destinations grew by 13 per cent and now represents 20 per cent of the airport’s total passengers.

Total aircraft movements at Abu Dhabi International actually remained static, growing by just 1.2 per cent versus the same month last year, although, scheduled flight movements did increase by seven per cent as a result of new airlines and additional frequencies. “It was very pleasing to see the strong load factor growth for our airlines on top of the good scheduled capacity growth in what is a typically low seasonal month for Abu Dhabi,” added Abu Ganaya.