Dubai International Airport pax up 15%, cargo up 3% in Oct-2013

UAE's Dubai International Airport reported (26-Nov-2013) its 10th consecutive month of passenger growth with a 15.1% year-on-year increase in passengers to 5.7 million in Oct-2013. Cargo volume increased 3% to 208,695 tonnes and aircraft movements increased 9.1% to 32,279. Western Europe recorded the largest growth in total passengers (+159,278) followed by the AGCC (+132,169), the Indian subcontinent (+126,150), and Africa (+67,884). Meanwhile, the strongest markets in term of percentage growth were Eastern Europe (+55%) mainly driven by Emirates' operations to destinations in the region, followed by Australasia (+41.3%) a region that has experienced robust growth as a result of Qantas' launch of operations to Dubai earlier this year. Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffith said growth at the airport has been better than expected so far this year and that the airport is on track to exceed the projected annual figure of 65.4 million by a margin. [more - original PR]