Arab News, Wednesday, Feb 22, 2023 | Sha'ban 02, 1444
Dubai Airport to welcome 78m passengers in 2023, operator forecasts
Emirates:
With Dubai set to host major events such as the
next UN Climate Change Conference, Dubai International Airport expects 78
million travelers to pass through its gates in 2023 after passenger traffic more
than doubled in the past year.
One of the biggest international travel hubs, DXB
handled 66 million passengers in 2022, a year-on-year growth of
127 percent, propelled by strong volumes in the fourth quarter of the year, the
airport operator said in a statement.
During this period, the airport recorded
19.72 million passengers, up 67 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021,
making it the busiest quarter since 2019.
“With DXB forecast to welcome 78 million
passengers this year, and Dubai hosting major international events including the
Dubai Airshow and COP28, it will be another year of new challenges and
opportunities and we are ready for them,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO, DXB.
December was the busiest month of the year with
7.1 million passengers, the first time since January 2020 that DXB’s monthly
traffic hit the 7 million mark.
India was the top destination country in terms of
traffic volume for DXB in 2022 as it received 9.8 million passengers.
Saudi Arabia came second with 4.9 million
passengers followed by the UK with 4.6 million passengers and Pakistan with 3.7
million passengers.
The number of Russians traveling through DXB came
in at 1.9 million as Emirates and Fly Dubai added flights to Russian cities
since the Ukraine conflict began early last year.
London was the top destination city by traffic
with 3 million passengers, followed by Riyadh with 2 million passengers and
Mumbai with 1.9 million passengers.
Total flight movements at DXB totaled 96,701
during the fourth quarter of 2022 bringing the annual flight movements to
343,339, a year-on-year growth of 47 percent. The average number of passengers
per flight reached 204, up 33 percent year-on-year.
However, cargo volumes continued to contract with
420,125 tons recorded in the fourth quarter, down 31.7 percent compared to
614,834 tons in the fourth of 2021.
DXB handled 1.7 million tons of cargo during 2022,
a drop of 25.5 percent resulting from the moving of all major freight operators
back to Dubai World Central and the return of pax-freighter aircraft back to
passenger operations during the year.