Abu Dhabi airport traffic up 21.7% on Etihad expansion

Etihad started new services to Yerevan in Armenia and to Perth in Australia in July. — Supplied photo

Abu Dhabi International Airport saw a 21.7 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in July as Etihad Airways continued its expansion, according to latest data released on Tuesday.

A total of 1,703,995 passengers passed through Abu Dhabi International Airport in July 2014, making Abu Dhabi a regional aviation hub. Aircraft movements grew 16.1 per cent to reach 13,188 while year-on-year cargo activity rose 5.7 per cent to 67,456 tonnes in July this year.

“The rate at which passenger numbers are increasing year-on-year continues to follow a significant upward trend,” Engineer Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said.

Looking at July more specifically, he said the figures were boosted by the Eid Al Fitr holiday as well as summer holiday season. July also saw Etihad Airways commence their new services to Yerevan in Armenia and to Perth in Australia, he added.

“Our challenge is to manage this growth whilst at the same time ensuring that standards of service, safety and security remain consistently high, helping us achieve our goal to become the world’s leading airports group,” Al Haddabi said.

The Midfield Terminal Complex, which is being built to meet this increasing growth, continues to progress on schedule and as each day passes the project resembles more closely what it will look like once completed, he said.

In July 2014, the top five routes from Abu Dhabi International Airport were London Heathrow, Doha, Manila, Bangkok and Jeddah accounting for 15 per cent of all traffic.

The rise in passenger traffic tourism also attributed to growing tourism in line with the initiatives taken by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, which has been involved in marketing Abu Dhabi as new destination in different countries in recent months.

Last week, a delegation of tour operators from Saudi Arabia were taken around Abu Dhabi’s best attractions and hotels as part of an awareness campaign highlighting the destination’s attractions.

Abu Dhabi’s Viceroy hotel hosted a three-day exploration trip for 12 Dammam-based outbound tour operators who took in a variety of offerings from luxury accommodation to the unique high-octane thrills of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

And the world’s first Ferrari theme park — and its 20 state-of-the-art attractions — proved the biggest hit with the delegation.

“Ferrari World is a fantastic destination for families. The kids will be happy and the adults will also have lots to do,” said Muhammad Shoib, from the Zahid Travel Group, on his first trip to the emirate.

“In fact, the whole of Abu Dhabi is attractive to the Saudi travel market. The destination — especially the attractions on Yas Island — will also be very popular with Dammam’s expat population,” he said.

“Ferrari World is unique — it’s part of the identity of Abu Dhabi. This is still a relatively new destination for us, but we see a lot of potential here for our customers.”

“Around four per cent of my business is currently to Abu Dhabi, but by the end of the year we believe we can grow that to around 10 per cent,” he said.

“We are now creating packages that include different options of hotels on Yas Island and in Abu Dhabi city with Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and other activities specifically for families,” he added.

Across the GCC, Saudi Arabia currently accounts for the most guests, guest nights and average length of stay in Abu Dhabi with the Kingdom being the emirate’s eighth most productive international source market.

In the first six months of this year guests from Saudi Arabia increased by 21 per cent compared to 2013, rising to 48,708. There are currently 78 flights from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi per week, as Etihad flies 21 times a week from Dammam, with Jet Airways flying seven times a week.

— haseeb@khaleejtimes.com