Indian subcontinent tops passenger growth at Dubai airport

The Indian subcontinent outperformed all regions in terms of growth in passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport for international travel, with more than 16 lakh passengers.
The airport welcomed more than 6.9 million passengers in April, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai airports yesterday.
With 1,644,045 passengers, the Indian subcontinent was on top in terms of growth in passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport. It was followed by the Western Europe with 1,533,558 and the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE -- with 1,252,282 passengers.

Total aircraft movements reached 34,733 in April, up 4.3 per cent compared to 33,279 during the corresponding month last year.
Passenger numbers reached 6,978,268 in April, up 7.2 per cent from the 6,510,653 people who visited the airport in April last year.
During the first four months this year, the airport welcomed 27,926,958 passengers compared to 26,116,977 people during the same period last year, an increase of 6.9 per cent.

In terms of percentage growth, Eastern Europe topped the list during April with routes to the region growing 12.6 per cent, followed by Asia with 12.1 per cent and the GCC with 10.3 per cent.

In the first four months of the year, total aircraft movements rose 5.4 per cent to 139,079 compared to 132.005 movements during the same period in 2015.
The average number of passengers per movement was 210 during April.
The airport recorded freight volumes totalling 213,790 in April compared to 204,075 in the same month last year, an increase of 4.8 per cent. Year to date cargo totalled 828,934 tons, up 3.8 per cent compared to 798,770 tons handled during the first four months in 2015.
"We will be launching a public awareness campaign to encourage passengers to follow our travel tips and show up early to the airport to enjoy all that we have on offer before boarding their flights," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai airports.