Dubai Airport handles 46.28m passengers in 11 months

Passenger througput at Dubai International Airport grew 7.8 per cent during the first 11 months reaching 46.28 million, Dubai Airports announced. Passenger traffic grew by 8.9 per cent in November to 4,431,673, compared to 4,070,296 recorded during the same month in 2010. The AGCC recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in November (+134,491 passengers), followed by South Asia (+77,375), Russia and the CIS (+69,786 passengers), and Western Europe (+48,830 passengers). The contraction in traffic on Middle Eastern routes continued in November (-17,538 passengers). During the month under review, aircraft movements totalled 29,093 up 8.5 per cent from 26,823 recorded during the same month in 2010. The year to date (January to November) flight movements increased by 6 per cent to 296,799, compared to 279,888 during the same period in 2010. Article continues below Freight growth during the month was flat with cargo volumes almost at par with the corresponding period last year. Dubai International handled 191,658 tonnes of freight in November, a marginal decrease of 0.4 per cent compared to 192,405 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2010. The year to date freight movement reached 1,999,898 tonnes, compared to the 2,033,828 tonnes handled during the corresponding period last year, a drop of 1.7 per cent. Describing DXB's performance throughout the year as satisfactory, Jamal Al Hai, Executive Senior Vice President, International Affairs and Communications, Dubai Airports said, "Considering that we have had an average monthly traffic of 4.2 million passengers in the first eleven months of 2011, we are well on track to surpass the historical figure of 50 million in annual traffic this year. Dubai International is already among the top five busiest hubs for international passengers and this milestone, while further affirming the soundness of Dubai's aviation model, will demand from us greater focus on managing growth and delivering on our customer service commitments in the New Year."