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UAE airports on track to exceed 100% traffic recovery soon: Iata

March has been the busiest month for the first quarter of 2023, with 7.3m passengers

The Middle East is playing a major catalyst role in the revival of the global aviation industry with leading aviation hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia on track to exceed the 100 per cent recovery soon, experts said on Wednesday.

Speakers at the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (Galf), which celebrated its milestone 10th edition at the Airport Show, were upbeat with their forecast of a fast-rebounding aviation sector as they saw passenger traffic in the region gaining full recovery in 2024 and growing 4.2 per cent annually through 2040.

Kashif Khalid, regional director, Middle East and Africa, International Air Transport Association (Iata), said that the aviation industry recovery is on track with a strong start to 2023. The Middle East is leading the traffic numbers in terms of recovering globally at 93 per cent of the pre-2019 levels, he said.

On Tuesday, Dubai’s main airport, Dubai International (DXB), raised its passenger traffic forecast for the year by five million to 83.6 million, which will put it within striking distance of 2019’s annual traffic levels, following a strong showing in the first quarter of the year. Traffic at DXB reached 95.6 per cent of 2019 levels with Q1 passenger numbers topping 21.2 million, Dubai Airports said. The airport saw its most-ever passengers in 2019 just before the pandemic, when it served 86.4 million passengers.

March has been the busiest month for the first quarter of 2023, with 7.3 million passengers. The airport said that is the highest monthly traffic since January 2020, when it saw 7.8 million passengers. Last year, the airport, which is connected to 234 destinations across 99 countries, counted 66 million passengers making it “the world’s busiest international hub for the ninth year running.” The outlook for the second quarter and the remainder of the year remains bullish, it said.

In the first quarter this year, airports across the UAE welcomed as many as 31.863 million passengers, an increase of more than 11.48 million passengers from the same period in 2022, when about 20,381,324 passengers were recorded, according to data from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Passenger traffic across Abu Dhabi’s five airports tripled in 2022 from the previous year, exceeding annual forecasts. A report published by the Abu Dhabi Media Office said a total of 15.9 million passengers used Abu Dhabi International, Al Ain International, Al Bateen Executive, Delma Island and Sir Bani Yas Island Airports – tripling the 5.26 million achieved in 2021

In his keynote address at Galf, Omar bin Ghaleb, deputy director general of GCAA said the country’s vision is to create a world class aviation ecosystem that embraces cutting edge technology, fosters innovation, promotes sustainability and delivers an exceptional customer experience. “To achieve this vision, we have made significant investments in modernising our infrastructure, upgrading our regulatory framework and enhancing our operational capabilities.”

“Our industry is not without challenges from security threats, technology disruption, environmental concerns and evolving customer expectations. We must navigate rapidly in a changing landscape. We recognise the significance of aviation in our national development and we remain committed to positioning our airports and airlines in the forefront of global best practices,” Ghaleb said.

“We have embraced digital transformation advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and blockchain to improve efficiency, enhance safety and personalise passenger service.

Ghaleb said sustainability lies at the heart of the nation’s approach as everyone is aware of the environmental impact of the aviation industry and the urgent need to mitigate through strategic partnership and collaboration and eco-friendly practices across our airports and airlines. “We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and being responsible custodians of the environment,” he added.