Dubai Airport remains No. 1 for handling international passengers in 2015

Dubai - In 2014, Dubai International overtook Heathrow to become the world's busiest airport. In 2015, Heathrow handled 69.85 million international passengers.

Published: Mon 1 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 3 Feb 2016, 10:07 AM

Dubai International Airport has retained the crown as the world's No. 1 hub for international passengers by registering annual traffic of more than 78 million in 2015, according to its operator Dubai Airports.
Dubai International is expected to keep the crown for at least a couple of years more as its close competitor London Heathrow recorded average international passenger volume of below six million per month in 2015 compared to Dubai's monthly 6.5 million passenger traffic last year.

In 2014, Dubai International overtook Heathrow to become the world's busiest airport. In 2015, Heathrow handled 69.85 million international passengers. Dubai's traffic figures are nearly 12 per cent more than London. After Dubai, other top airports in the world - London, Hong Kong, Paris, Amsterdam and Singapore - were unable to cross the 70 million international passengers mark in 2015.
"It's another banner year for Dubai International where we broke records, engaged and entertained our customers in new ways, and retained our position as the world's No. 1 international hub," Dubai Airports chief executive officer Paul Griffiths said in a statement. "But we have no time to rest on our laurels as we are already busy testing the readiness our newest facility, the $1.2 billion Concourse D, which when it opens for our 70-plus airlines this quarter, will play a crucial role in helping us welcome millions of passengers in comfort and style."
Passenger numbers in December 2015 totalled 7.05 million an increase of 8.5 per cent compared to 6.5 million recorded during the same month in 2014, taking the average monthly traffic for the year to a record high of 6.5 million. It was the second time in the year after August when monthly traffic exceeded the seven million mark.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based Strategic Aero Research, said, Dubai International's record number of over 78 million passengers in 2015 signifies the unending demand for travel to the city.
"With continued expansion through Emirates and flydubai's organic, but due to rapid growth strategies the airport has been able to pull in more international traffic than ever before. With over eight per cent traffic growth alone in December to over seven million passengers in the month, there was certainly no seasonal slowdown," Ahmad told Khaleej Times.
Aircraft movements in 2015 reached 403,517, up 14.1 per cent compared to 353,507 movements recorded during 2014. Monthly aircraft movements in December totalled 35,575 compared to 33,595 movements during the same month in 2014, an increase of 5.9 per cent.
During the year Dubai International welcomed new airlines including Air Canada from Toronto, Eurowings from Cologne and China Southern from Wuhan among others. A total of 12 new passenger destinations were also added thanks to the ongoing network expansion of Emirates and flydubai.
India retained its position as Dubai's single-largest destination country in 2015 with 10.39 million passengers, a year-on-year growth of 17 per cent compared to 8.91 in 2014. The UK was second with 5.68 million passengers followed closely by Saudi Arabia. In terms of destination cities served by Dubai, Doha retained the top spot followed by London and Mumbai.
Ahmad said the opening of the new concourse will further aid Dubai International's push to achieve 100 million passengers by the turn of the decade.
"Indeed, based on current performance, it may well hit that goal before 2020 arrives. With this growth, there will be a more pressing need to develop Al Maktoum International Airport even faster."
Despite the transfer of all pure cargo operators from Dubai International to Dubai World Central, cargo volumes remained relatively steady with 2.51 million tonnes of airfreight passing through in 2015.
abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com