DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dubai International, the world’s second busiest international hub, registered another banner year with annual passenger traffic reaching 66,431,533 in 2013, following a record-breaking December when passenger numbers eclipsed the 6 million mark for the first time.
Annual passenger traffic of 66,431,533, up 15.2 per cent compared to 57,684,550 recorded during 2012, represents the airport’s highest total ever. Passenger numbers in December reached a record 6,047,126, an increase of 13.6 per cent compared to 5,320,961 recorded during the same month in 2012.
Aircraft movements in 2013 reached 369,953, up 7.5 per cent compared to 344,245 movements recorded during 2012.
India retained its position as Dubai’s largest destination country with 8,401,253 passengers, a year on year growth of 14.3 per cent compared to 7,347,270 in 2012. UK placed second with 5,099,843 passengers (+24.1 per cent) followed by Saudi Arabia at 4,825,114 (+34.2 per cent). In terms of destination cities served by Dubai International, Doha retained the top spot with 2,516,866 passengers (+12.9 per cent) followed by London with 2,494,555 passengers (+24.1 per cent) and Kuwait with 1,813,603 passengers (+13.3 per cent).
Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding regional market in terms of percentage growth in 2013 (+57.4 per cent) due to network expansion by flydubai and Emirates followed by Australasia (+33.4 per cent) thanks to additional services and traffic resulting from the Emirates partnership with Qantas.
Cargo volumes also reached record levels in 2013 with 2,435,567 tonnes of air freight passing through Dubai International during 2013, up 6.8 per cent compared to 2,279,624 tonnes recorded during 2012. Monthly freight volumes in December totaled 218,138, up 8 per cent compared to 201,949 recorded during the same month in 2012.
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 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. 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.”
Images and B-roll of the opening are available on our website: www.dubaiairport.com.
*Source: ME NewsWire