Record month caps off record year for Dubai International

Following its busiest month and year on record, Dubai International has taken over as the world’s third ranked airport for international passenger numbers, vaulting ahead of Hong Kong International Airport in the global rankings. According to the annual traffic report issued by Dubai Airports, passenger traffic surged 13.2% to 57,684,550 in 2012, up from 50,977,960 passengers recorded during 2011. The 2012 passenger traffic also exceeded Dubai Airports’ forecast at the start of the year of 56.5 million by more than a million passengers. The year-end numbers were bolstered by a record 5,320,961 passengers in December, 13.4% higher than the 4,690,726 passengers recorded in December 2011 and the second month in Dubai International’s 52-year history that passenger traffic has exceeded five million passengers. Aircraft movements for 2012 reached 344,245 movements, up 5.5% cent from the 326,318 movements recorded in 2011. Regionally, South America was the fastest expanding market in terms of percentage growth in 2012 (+ 99.4%) due to the introduction of Emirates flights to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. India remained Dubai International’s single biggest country destination in terms of passenger numbers. “Moving into the top three is a fantastic achievement for Dubai International and we now have London’s Heathrow and the number one spot firmly within our sights. The opening of Concourse A, the world’s first purpose-built A380 facility, has given us the room to maintain our strong growth into the new year, with a forecast of 65.4 million passengers in 2013,”said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.