Dubai Airports projects 13.6% passenger growth in 2010

Total passenger traffic is expected to reach 40.5 million by the end of 2009 and top 46 million in 2010.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said:

"Improving economic conditions, state-of-the-art infrastructure, strong expansion by Emirates Airline and emerging low cost carrier flydubai and an open skies policy that promotes market access to other international airlines are driving this growth."

Dubai's location and advancements in aircraft technology are also key contributing factors.

"Dubai is located four hours flying time from one-third of the world's population and 12 hours from 80% of the population. New aircraft types such as the A380 and B777 ER are shrinking our globe and amplifying the attractiveness of Dubai's strategic location for international and regional operations," said Griffiths. "As a result Dubai International has seen traffic triple in just 8 years. Today we have more than 125 carriers serving 210 destinations on six continents."

The first phase of Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International is also expected to stimulate traffic when it opens in June 2010. Approximately 1 million passengers are anticipated to pass through DWC-AMI during an abbreviated operational period in 2010. Phase 1 of the airport is being built to accommodate future traffic expansion with a single A380 compatible runway, a passenger terminal with capacity of 5 million passengers per annum (mppa) expandable to 7 mppa, a cargo terminal building capable of handling 250,000 tonnes per annum expandable to 600,000 tonnes per annum and a dedicated road link to the region's largest port in Jebel Ali.

Dubai International is ranked the world's 5th busiest airport in terms of international passengers and 4th busiest for international air cargo volumes according to Airport Council International's (ACI) latest published figures. Projected growth in 2010 is likely to see Dubai rise in those rankings.

"Aviation is big business in Dubai contributing at least 25% of Dubai's GDP," said Griffiths. "That will only get bigger as the growth in this sector continues."