Dubai Airports: Passenger Traffic Up, Runway Upgrade “Ahead Of Schedule”

Passenger traffic through Dubai’s main airport, one of the world’s busiest, rose 13.7 per cent from a year earlier to 6.16 million people in April, the airport operator said on Tuesday.

During the first four months of 2014, traffic at Dubai International Airport climbed 11.9 per cent to 24.52 million passengers.

Freight volume handled by the airport rose 3.7 per cent in April to 207,317 tonnes; in the first four months, volume grew 4.6 per cent to 821,193 tonnes.

However, activity is expected to taper off between May and July, Dubai Airports said, because of construction work on Dubai International’s runways. The airport plans to cut flights by 26 per cent for an 80-day period that started on May 1, the operator announced earlier.

Several airlines have moved flights to Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport during the period.

The runway upgrade programme is ahead of schedule with work on the southern runway finished on May 27, four days ahead of the planned May 31 completion date, Dubai Airports added. The additional days will be used for work on the northern runway, which will remain closed until July 20.