DIA's double-digit growth continues in 2008 Q1 passenger throughput up 15%

The airport handled a total of 9,341,270 passengers from January to March this year, as compared to 8,114,762 in the first quarter of 2007.

March was the busiest month with 3.25 million passengers, while February registered the lowest at just over 2.97 million passengers.

With a total of 34.34 million passengers in 2007 the airport registered an increase of over 19% over 2006.

Passenger throughput is expected to cross 40 million this year and reach 60 million by 2010.

The total tonnage of cargo handled during the period under review reached 399,718 tonnes as against 362,919 tonnes during the first quarter of 2007, a substantial increase of over 10%.

March was the busiest month for cargo with over 144,954 tonnes, while February showed a greater year on year growth at 12.1%.

There were a total of 68,869 aircraft movements during the period under review, an increase of 8.5% over the first quarter of 2007.

With over 24,143 aircraft movements, March was the busiest month, well over January (22,903) and February (21,823).

Commenting on the DIA's growth, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, said that the report is very encouraging and will set the tempo for the remainder of the year.

He noted that after six years of consecutive double digit growth, Dubai International Airport is looking forward to repeating the feat this year as well. "The region's aviation sector is the world's fastest growing, and Dubai being the regional hub for trade, tourism and aviation, a consistent increase in passenger throughput at DIA shouldn't come as a surprise," he added.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, expressed satisfaction with DIA's growth and said he was confident of yet another record breaking year of growth for the airport.

"While we have managed to maintain a high growth rate since 2002, the challenge now is to manage that growth vis-à-vis our capacity and the customer service expectations we have helped raise over the years. We are assessing every part of our operation to see how we can optimise these to ensure smooth flow of traffic and the highest standard of customer service at Dubai International Airport," he added.

Mohammed Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and CEO, Air Traffic Services (ATS), said one of the major reasons behind Dubai International's sustaining a high growth rate for over half a decade is Dubai's open skies policy.

"We have had new airlines joining us periodically, thanks to Dubai's envious position as the region's best connection, and our destination network has also expanded rapidly especially in recent years. In 2008 the list of airlines serving Dubai has so far risen to 124, an addition of four since 2007, while we have added as many new destinations to our network and it presently stands at 207," he added.