Abu Dhabi airport passenger traffic up 23.3% in July

Passenger traffic through Abu Dhabi International Airport rose 23.3 per cent in the month of July, boosted by crowds of vacationers travelling to and from the United Arab Emirates, the airport operator said.

The capital’s airport saw about 2.1 million passengers passing through last month, compared to 1.7 million during the same period in 2014.

The airport also recorded the highest number of departures in a single month with 1.1 million passengers in July, the statement added.

The busiest routes from the Abu Dhabi airport in July were London Heathrow, Bangkok, Doha, Manila and Mumbai. These five routes accounted for 16 per cent of all traffic at the airport last month.

Aircraft movements reached 15,059 in the last month, representing a 14.2 per cent increase over the 13,188 movements reported in July 2014.

Cargo activity was also on the rise in July 2015, as the airport handled 68,888 metric tonnes; a 2.1 per cent increase compared to July 2014. Etihad cargo, which represents 91.5 per cent of the airport’s total cargo, grew by 3 per cent.

“We are proud to have passed not one but two significant milestones in a single month, with the total number of passengers reaching two million for the first time in Abu Dhabi International Airport’s history and recorded departures of more than 1 million,” said Abu Dhabi Airports chief operating officer Ahmad Al Haddabi.

“The rate at which passenger numbers are increasing year on year continues to follow an upward trend. The figures in July 2015 were boosted by Ramadan and the Eid Al Fitr holiday, as well as the summer holiday season.”

Al Haddabi added that the construction of the new midfield terminal building is also progressing steadily.

Abu Dhabi, much like its peers Dubai and Doha, is building on its location and network to improve its airport hub traffic.

The emirate- through its carrier Etihad-has also sought to attain equity stakes in a number of carriers in key markets that would be instrumental in increasing traffic.

Etihad has stakes in India’s Jet Airways, Italy’s Alitalia, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Aer Lingus, Virgin Australia and Swiss-based Darwin Airline.