Dubai Airports has again upped its annual forecast for passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) to 64.3 million, the airport said in a statement on Tuesday.
The move follows “a strong performance by the hub in the third quarter, and the prospects of a stronger surge in the offing in the final three months of 2022,” Dubai Airports said.
Average monthly traffic exceeded the 6 million mark through the third quarter of 2022, with the airport recording 18.5 million passengers, achieving pre-pandemic levels since 2020.
The hub also previously recorded 17.8 million passengers in the first quarter of 2020 before the pandemic.
“The growth in passenger traffic has been terrific throughout the year and continues to exceed our expectations by a margin. While we are thrilled with the numbers, what really gives us immense satisfaction is how the airport community is working together like a well-oiled machine to keep raising the bar on service quality,” Dubai Airports’ chief executive officer Paul Griffiths said.
Griffiths added: “Our collaborative approach and service transformation initiatives are making a tangible difference in the happiness of our customers, and that remains our ultimate measure of success.”
Passenger volumes at DXB recorded a triple-digit surge in the third quarter reaching 18,455,938, however, cargo saw a “softening of demand”.
“DXB recorded 397,676 tonnes of freight in the Q3, bringing the total volume for the first nine months of 2022 to 1,307,691 tonnes, a year on year drop of 23.3 percent,” the statement said.
Flight movements in Q3 surged to 98,577 at DXB, with India being the top country destination of traffic volume after it recorded 6.8 million passengers in the first nine months of the year.
Saudi Arabia was placed second with 3.4 million passengers followed by the UK (3.2 million passengers) and Pakistan (2.7 million passengers). Other country markets of note were the US and Australia with 2.2 million and 1.1 million in passenger traffic respectively. The top three cities by traffic were London (2 million passengers), Riyadh (1.5 million) and Mumbai (1.3 million).
Dubai has begun to see a surge in in-bound traffic, as visitors travelled in to attend the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this weekend. Travellers are currently headed to Doha for football matches with Emirates and flydubai operating round-the-clock flights.
The upcoming UAE National Day will also see a surge of outbound travel as UAE residents take advantage of the four-day weekend, followed by the Christmas and New Year season.
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