Dubai International Airport receives record 8.2 million passengers in August

Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest for international traffic – enjoyed its busiest month ever in August, according to data issued by operator Dubai Airports.

Boosted by the seasonal rush of travellers, passenger numbers were up 6.6 per cent to 8.2 million compared to the same month last year, when 7.7 million passengers were recorded.

The total year-to-date traffic was 59.4 million passengers, up 6.3 per cent compared to the 55.9 million recorded during the first eight months of 2016.

The average number of passengers per flight increased 7.2 per cent to 246, however, flight movements – landings and take-offs – declined for the fourth month in a row.

Flight movements were down to 34,370, compared to 34,967 recorded in August 2016.

India remained the top destination country, with just over 1 million passengers in August, followed by the UK and Saudi Arabia.

The most popular destination cities were London, Kuwait and Mumbai.

In terms of cargo, the airport handled 221,508 tonnes of freight in August, up 10.1 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the operator was “very pleased” with the way things were shaping up this year, with passenger numbers exceeding the 8 million mark in January, July and August.

Read: Dubai’s two airports likely to welcome 100 million passengers in 2017