Abu Dhabi Airport Passenger Traffic Up 15% In Q1 2014

Abu Dhabi International Airport passenger traffic rose 15.1 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2014, to reach 4.5 million.

Passenger traffic touched 1.5 million in March alone, up 15.2 per cent from the corresponding period last year, Abu Dhabi Airports revealed.

Aircraft movements grew 11.8 per cent to reach 35,844 in Q1 2014 compared to 32,062 movements logged in Q1 2013.

While cargo activity handled at all three terminals rose to 183,344 tonnes, up 15.8 per cent.

“It is clear that businesses and tourists alike increasingly see Abu Dhabi both as a destination of choice and as a logical transit point on longer journeys,” said Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports.

“This in turn is further evidence of the airport’s rapidly growing status as a major global transportation hub, and shows why our capacity enhancement programme remains a critical and complex initiative to enable passengers to have the best possible travel experience.”

The top five routes during the first quarter were Manila, Bangkok, Jeddah, Doha and London Heathrow.

Passenger traffic at the Abu Dhabi airport is estimated to double once the new Midfield Terminal becomes operational.

Around 30 million passengers are expected to use the terminal annually as their original destination or as a transit point for domestic and international flights.

The $2.9 billion terminal, named because of its location between two runways, is expected to be operational by July 2017.

Abu Dhabi has also been aggressively undertaking its tourism strategy by conducting roadshows in countries in Asia and America.

The emirate’s flag carrier Etihad has also signed a number of codeshare partnerships with other airlines to spike passenger traffic to the city.