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Abu Dhabi / WAM
Abu Dhabi Airports, the operator of the five airports in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, on Monday released its passenger traffic results report for the third quarter of 2022. During this period, passenger traffic totalled 4.7 million passengers, a rise of 250% compared to the 1.3 million passengers in Q3 2021.
The report highlights impressive passenger traffic figures across Abu Dhabi International, Al Ain International, Al Bateen Executive, Delma Island and Sir Bani Yas Island airports between July 1 and September 30.
While the five airports reported 10,982,114 passengers by September 30, which is equivalent to passenger traffic in 2020 and 2021 combined, Abu Dhabi Airports expects to close 2022 with an excess of 15 million passengers.
Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, MD and Chief Executive Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “These figures are a demonstration of how the aviation industry has recovered remarkably. New airlines and air routes continue to be attracted to Abu Dhabi, while new and improved services have played a prominent role in accommodating the expected surging demand head-on. For Abu Dhabi Airports, 2022 has been a year of sustained momentum, maintaining a level of excellence that we will carry forward to Q4.”
Third-quarter statistics confirm that 49,046 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) were recorded across the five airports, a significant 35% increase from the 36,367 ATMs in Q3 2021 in a clear demonstration of network and passenger growth. These flights were conducted between more than 100 passenger destinations on 23 airlines.
The top five countries in terms of the passenger footfall increase during Q3 were from India (933,640), the United Kingdom (291,576), Pakistan (265,793), Saudi Arabia (217,656) and Egypt (197,193).
The busiest destinations served during Q3 included London Heathrow LHR (232,002), Mumbai International (155,294), Delhi International (130,723), Cairo International (118,885) and Kochi International Airport (101,828).
Abu Dhabi Airports also released its Q3 2022 cargo traffic results for Abu Dhabi International Airport that show the airport handled 144,083 tonnes of air freight, compared to 182,929 tonnes during the same period in 2021 due to airlines rebalancing the fleet between passenger and cargo aircraft.