Dubai airport passenger traffic up 6.9% in October

Dubai International Airport recorded a 6.9 per cent rise in passenger traffic in October despite fewer planes taking off and landing at the world’s busiest airport for international travellers.

The airport handled 6.86 million passengers in October compared to 6.42 million in the same month a year earlier, operator Dubai Airports said in a statement on Monday.

Flight movements – or landings and takeoffs – contracted for the sixth month in a row, although the number of passengers per flight grew 11.6 per cent to 213.

Dubai is the base for Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest airline and the largest operator of the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

Dubai Airports chief executive Paul Griffiths said the airport was on track to meet its previously announced target of handling 89 million passengers this year.

The airport has handled 73.43 million passengers in the January-October period, up 5.9 per cent compared to the first 10 months of 2016.

The most popular destinations by passenger volume in October were London, Mumbai and New Delhi. The airport handled 231,805 tonnes of cargo which was down 1.8 per cent compared to the same month a year ago.