Dubai International Airport registered annual passenger traffic of 66,431,533 in 2013, following a record-breaking December when passenger numbers exceeded 6m for the first time.

 

The world’s second busiest international hub, reported annual passenger traffic of 66,431,533, up 15.2% compared to 57,684,550 recorded during 2012, represents the airport’s highest total ever. The operator believes this is attributable to network expansion, which resulted in monthly traffic over 5m for 12 consecutive months.

 

The number of passengers in December reached 6,047,126, an increase of 13.6% compared to 5,320,961 recorded during the same month in 2012.

 

During the year a total of 28 new passenger destinations were added due largely to the expanding networks of Dubai-based airlines flydubai and Emirates bringing the total passenger destinations served by Dubai International to 239.

 

INDIA STILL ON TOP

India retained its position as Dubai’s single largest destination country with 8,401,253 passengers, a year on year growth of 14.3% compared to 7,347,270 in 2012. The UK placed second with 5,099,843 passengers (+19%) followed by Saudi Arabia at 4,825,114 (+34.2%).

 

In terms of destination cities served by Dubai International, Doha retained the top spot with 2,516,866 passengers (+12.9%) followed closely by London with 2,494,555 passengers  (+24.1%) and Kuwait with 1,813,603 passengers (+13.3%). Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding regional market in terms of percentage growth in 2013 (+57.4%) due to network expansion by flydubai and Emirates, followed by Australasia (+33.4%) thanks to additional services and traffic resulting from the Emirates partnership with Qantas while Asia Pacific placed third (+25.1%).

 

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports said: “It was truly a historic year for Dubai’s aviation sector highlighted by the successful opening of Concourse A, the world’s largest and only facility purpose built for the Airbus A380; the launch of passenger services at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central; and a record breaking airshow that featured aircraft orders exceeding US$ 200 billion – the bulk of which was placed by Dubai’s flag carriers. 2014 is set to be another eventful year, one featuring continued traffic growth, network expansion and the ongoing enlargement and upgrade of our facilities and runways.”