UAE Air Traffic Grows 2.9% In July

Air traffic movements in the UAE grew 2.9 per cent in July compared to the same month last year, according to data from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Total air traffic movements in the month of July amounted to 63,213 with an average of 2,039 air movements per day, GCAA said in its monthly report.

Dubai recorded the highest share of air traffic in the country with 29,074 traffic movements. Flights passing over the UAE airspace accounted for the second highest share of air traffic with 12,322 movements.

Abu Dhabi ranked third with 10,064 air traffic movements while Sharjah came fourth with 5,365 movements.

Local flights between the UAE airports accounted for 5,310 movements in the airspace while Al Maktoum International airport in Jebal Ali saw 507 air traffic movements.

Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain airports had 382 and 105 air movements respectively while Fujairah had 84 movements.

According to the UAE Flight Information Region (FIR), UAE airspace recorded a total of 741,450 aircrafts in 2012. The FIR projects this figure to reach 895,468 in 2015, over 1.13 million by 2020 and 1.63 million by 2030.

UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia have services to all the major cities around the world and are aggressively seeking to expand further.

Earlier this year, Dubai International Airport ranked as the second busiest airport in the world in terms of the passenger traffic, replacing Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The airport is second only to London’s Heathrow.

Official figures show that Dubai recorded more than 5.58 million visitors in the first half of this year representing a 11.1 per cent year-on-year increase.