Dubai International Airport retains position as world’s busiest

Dubai International kept its position as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers for the second year, after traffic exceeded 78 million in 2015.

Aided by 100 airlines that connect the airport to 240 destinations around the world, the airport traffic increased by 10.7 per cent in 2015 over the 70.4 million recorded in 2014.

In December alone, passenger numbers reached 7.05 million, an increase of 8.5 per cent over the 6.49 million passengers that passed through the airport in August of 2014. On average, monthly traffic for the year was at 6.5 million. But since August, the monthly traffic has exceeded the 7 million mark consecutively.

Last year, new airlines started flying to Dubai International including Air Canada from Toronto, Eurowings from Amsterdam and China Southern from Wuhan. Additionally, around 12 new destinations were added by the airport’s designated carrier Emirates and flydubai, its sister low cost airline.

Moving ahead, the airport is preparing to open its newest facility, the $1.2 billion Concourse D, which is slated to open this quarter. “The facility will play a crucial role in helping us welcome millions of passengers,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airport.

However, Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, said: “There will of course be greater pressure to ensure that not only is there a smooth opening of the new concourse, but the wider UAE policy makers will have to weigh up opening of more military airspace for commercial usage.”

“It is this which will allow Dubai to truly unlock the growth potential at Al Maktoum International Airport [Dubai’s new airport], particularly as the current airport looks primed to reach the 100m passenger goal ahead of its target in 2020 based on current growth rates.”