São Paulo – The Dubai International Airport received 32.6 million passengers in the first half of 2013, a half-yearly record according to a report released this Monday (29th) by operator Dubai Airports.
The figure is up 16.9% from the first half of 2012, when 27.93 million passed through the airport. Passenger throughput at the Dubai International Airport averaged at 5.44 million in the first half this year, as against 4.65 million in the first half of 2012.
In June, passenger traffic at the airport stood at 5.537 million, up 17.5% from June 2012. LAset month, Australia was the fastest growing destination in passenger numbers (+44.4%), an increase driven by the beginning of operations of Australia’s Qantas airline at the airport, in Other destinations to which traffic increased included Saudi Arabia (+35%), United Kingdom (+21.9%) and India (+21%).
Region-wise, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (an economic bloc composed of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman) led the increase in passenger traffic in June (+198,779 passengers). South America was the only region to which passenger traffic decreased last month (-5,508).
In the first half of 2013, the Dubai Airport saw a cargo throughput of 1.196 million tonnes, up 10.2% from the first half of 2012. In June alone, the airport moved 202,000 tonnes of freight, up 3.6% from June 2012.
According to a Dubai Airports press release, traffic at the Dubai International Airport is expected to exceed 65.4 million passengers in 2013.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
