Passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport jumped 19.4 percent from a year earlier to 9.48 million people in the first half of this year as the emirate expanded its route network to the rest of the world, the airport's operator said on Wednesday.

Traffic is expected to be higher still in the second half, Ahmad al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said in a statement.

Cargo volume through the airport climbed 16 percent to 377,885 tonnes in the first half.

Like neighbouring Dubai, Abu Dhabi is rapidly expanding its aviation sector; the emirate's state-owned flagship carrier Etihad Airways has become an important tool for Abu Dhabi to diversify its economy beyond oil.

In the first half of this year, passenger traffic through Dubai International Airport expanded 6.2 percent to 34.68 million people, while cargo volume edged down 1.8 percent to 1.18 million tonnes. Growth was slowed by construction work on Dubai's runways, which has now been completed.  - Reuters