Two International honours for Dubai Airports - DIA wins Best Airport Middle East at Business Traveller Awards

Passenger throughput at Dubai International reached 34.34m in 2007 - up 19.3% over 2006, the highest growth rate registered last year by any international airport in the world. Dubai Duty Free also announced record-breaking results with sales for 2007 reaching an unprecedented Dhs3.175bn ($880m), representing a 24% increase over the previous year.

HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports said,

"Dubai International has long been recognised as a premier airport in the Middle East and is fast emerging as a global hub, thanks to Dubai's achievements in tourism, trade, aviation and logistics sectors. Our infrastructure will expand greatly over the coming years giving us unparalleled capacity; and side by side with our expansion projects we are also working with all stakeholders to make Dubai Airports better in all aspects of our operations. International honours such as these are a reaffirmation of our ongoing efforts to provide the highest standard of service, and the best of facilities to passengers."

Commenting on Dubai International win at the awards, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports said that which such honours give a sense of achievement; they also raise the bar one notch higher for the winners and provide them with new challenges. "We are aware of our performance and position internationally, but being recognised by independent bodies or users of airports, as is in the case of Business Traveller - Germany is truly satisfying."

The Business Traveller award is given based on the quality of services, such as baggage delivery, check in, and front line staff services; facilities and duty free shopping - a major contributor towards achieving the award. Survey forms for the Award nominations are included in Business Traveller Germany and sent to all regional subscribers, a large percentage of which turns them in with their choice.

The naseba MENA Airport Awards, which are organised and hosted every year by Naseba, recognise the region's best experts in the aviation industry. The awards are presented to key players in the Middle East and North African aviation industry in recognition of their proactive approach to aviation development. The awards this year focused on the MENA's fastest growing and most influential airports. This year the awards were hosted by Naseba in partnership with Skytrax.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax and Philippe Saad from BBC World revealed the names of the winners at the event. The 2009 edition of the Awards, keeping pace with the latest developments in the industry, will give an additional focus to airlines and aviation services that are responsible for supporting the airports in their growth.