Dubai International Airport reports busiest first half traffic in 1H2013

UAE's Dubai International Airport reported (29-Jul-2013) a 16.9% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers to 32.7 million in 1H2013, making it the airport's busiest six month on record. In Jun-2013, the airport handled 5.5 million passengers, up 17.5%, the seven consecutive month in which monthly passengers have exceeded five million. The top five country destinations in terms of passenger volumes were India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Australia and Pakistan. Driven by the launch of Qantas operations to Dubai in Apr-2013, Australia (+44.4%) also topped the list in terms of percentage growth, followed by Saudi Arabia (+35.0%), the UK (+21.9%) and India (+21.0%). Cargo volume in Jun-2013 increased 3.6% to 202,077 tonnes and aircraft movements increased 10.1% to 30,191. [more - original PR]