Passenger traffic at the Dubai International Airport registered an increase of 9.4 per cent in November 2016, according to the monthly traffic report issued today by operator Dubai Airports.

The airport welcomed a total of 6,581,805 passengers in November compared to 6,013,911 passengers during the same month in 2015, an increase of 9.4 per cent.

The year-to-date (YTD) traffic in November totalled 75,947,899 passengers, up 7 per cent compared to 70,961,598 passengers recorded during the first eleven months of the year in 2015.

India (YTD 958,763 passengers) was the top destination country in terms of total passenger numbers recorded in November – the growth spurred mainly by increase in capacity and launch of new services by SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Air India and other carriers during the year. Saudi Arabia (469,483 passengers) came second, followed by the UK (465,385), and Pakistan (308,071).

The top regions in terms of percentage growth were Eastern Europe (26.5 per cent) and Asia (17.3 per cent) followed closely by the GCC (17 per cent), while London (286,986), Doha (235,910), Mumbai (202,041) and Riyadh (151,791) were the top destination cities with highest growth during the month, said Dubai Airports.

Aircraft movements in November 2016 totalled 34,692, up 2.7 per cent compared to 33,787 recorded during the same month in 2015. The year-to-date aircraft movements totalled 382,155 compared to 371,103 recorded during the period under review in 2015, a growth of 2.9 per cent. The average number of passengers per flight during the month was 200 up from 188 during November 2015.

Dubai International handled 234,743 tonnes of cargo during November, a year on year growth of 7.5 per cent compared to 218,323 tonnes recorded during the same month 2015. The year-to-date freight volumes reached 2,362,332 compared to 2,287,167 tonnes handled during the corresponding period in 2015, an increase of 3.3 per cent, it said.

Describing DXB’s performance during the year as very satisfying, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “We are very pleased with the overall growth at DXB in general and passenger traffic in particular, with average monthly traffic nearing 7 million passengers this year. Considering the seasonal rush of travellers we experienced at DXB during the holiday season in December, we are all set to achieve impressive annual growth yet again.”  - TradeArabia News Service