DXB closing in on PEK and ATL for passenger traffic

DXB the world’s second busiest international hub, registered a record 5.8 million passengers in March according to the monthly traffic report issued by Dubai Airports yesterday. Passenger traffic in March surged by 20.6%, the highest since August 2012, to 5,846,297 compared to 4,848,320 in March 2012, the fourth consecutive month with more than 5 million passengers and a double-digit growth. The strong showing has boosted the year to date traffic to 16,486,417, up 15.6% compared with 14,261,606 recorded during the first three months of 2012.
The largest increase in total passenger number were recorded on the Western European routes – driven mainly by Emirates airline and flydubai services to destinations in the region registering the largest increase in total passenger numbers (+227,830), followed by the AGCC (209,737), and the Indian subcontinent (+202,703). Growth remained subdued (+2,532) on South American routes while Middle Eastern routes registered moderate growth (+36,479).
In terms of percentage growth, Eastern Europe was the fastest-expanding market (+67.9%) driven by Emirates airline’s launch of new services to Poland and flydubai’s service to Macedonia, followed by Asia Pacific (26.5%).