Dubai airport records impressive May growth

Clocking double-digit passenger growth for the 11th consecutive month, Dubai International's May passenger traffic increased by 13.6 per cent as the airport handled a total of 3,654,717 passengers compared to 3,217,089 in May 2009.

The year-to-date passenger traffic went up by 17.7 per cent as 18,870,253 passengers passed through Dubai International, compared to 16,035,676 during the corresponding period in 2009, Dubai Airports said yesterday in a statement.

Cargo traffic, too, recorded a double-digit growth with volumes growing by 31.7 per cent to 195,221 tonnes compared to 148,207 tons during the same month in 2009 spurred by increased economic activity in Asia and other regional markets. The YTD cargo volumes, meanwhile, totalled 917,280 tonnes compared to 722,549 tonnes during the same period in 2009, marking a 27 per cent increase.

"The outlook remains strong as we expect traffic during June and September to hit record levels owing to the onset of the summer travel season," Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said in a statement.

He added that an average of 100,000 passengers per day travelled through Dubai International during the summer rush in 2009.