Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport (DXB) continued to rise in May as the airport welcomed 6.2m customers, up 23.2% yoy. The impressive rise can be attributed to the fact that in May last year the airport was reduced to one runway while a billion dollar refurbishment programme was conducted over an 80-day period.

 

Dubai International Airport overtook London Heathrow in 2014 as the world’s busiest international airport, serving over 70m.

 

“The summer peak is upon us and we are thrilled to have both of our upgraded runways in full operation,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

 

“We expect record traffic levels and have boosted our staff levels, including our ‘May I Help You’ personnel, to help passengers move as effortlessly as possible through the facility.

 

“We have also launched “Hang Out at DXB” which is a fun way to encourage passengers to arrive to the airport early to support on time operations and enjoy the wide array of dining, shopping and relaxation options we have on offer.”

The number of passengers served at DXB reached precisely 6,267,640 compared to the 5,086,910 handled in May 2014. During the first five months of 2015, Dubai International welcomed 32,384,620 passengers, compared to 29,608,364 passengers during the same period last year, an increase of 9.4%.

 

Eastern Europe continued to be the fastest growing region in May up 85.4%, driven mainly by flydubai’s new services to Slovakia, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Croatia, and Emirates service to Hungary and Transavia airline to Bulgaria.

 

Other regions that registered high growth rates include the Indian subcontinent (33.8%), GCC (31.1%) and North America (28%) – where Emirates has increased capacity on many destinations and launched a new route to Chicago.

In terms of total passenger numbers the Indian subcontinent outperformed the rest of the regions (+372,587 passengers), followed by the GCC (+248,919 passengers), and Western Europe (172,830).

The number of flights rose dramatically in May to 34,017, an increase of 48.8% from 22,856 recorded during May 2014 due to the effect of the runway closure. Year to date flight movements reached 167,510, up 12.6% from 148,784 aircraft movements recorded during the same period last year.