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DUBAI / WAM
Dubai International (DXB) made a stellar start to the year by recording its busiest quarter in history, with 23 million guests passing through its terminals, marking an 8.4% increase compared to the same period last year.
In a statement, Dubai Airports said that the total passenger traffic for the quarter reached 23,052,060 guests, with January recording the highest traffic at 7.9 million.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of DXB, commented, “The robust growth trajectory at DXB continued in the first quarter of the year, with the hub recording some truly impressive numbers. Thanks in part to the proliferation of cities being added to our network by our home base carriers, Emirates and flydubai, in recent months. As Dubai emerges as a global leader in attracting talent, businesses, and tourists from across the globe, our focus remains on sustaining growth momentum and enhancing the overall airport experience for every guest passing through our terminals.”
“With a strong start to Q2 and an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year, we have revised our forecast for the year to 91 million guests, surpassing our previous annual traffic record of 89.1 million in 2018.”
With connections to 256 destinations across 102 countries through 90 international carriers, DXB strengthens Dubai’s position as a global business and logistics hub.
India remained DXB’s top destination country, with passenger traffic reaching 3.1 million guests, followed by Saudi Arabia (2 million), the UK (1.5 million), and Pakistan (1.1 million).
The top cities by passenger numbers include London with 961,000 guests, Riyadh (795,000), and Jeddah (669,000), followed by Mumbai with 637,000 guests.
The first quarter saw 109,238 total flight movements, an 8.3% year-on-year increase, with load factors reaching 79.1% in Q1. DXB managed 26.8 million bags.