Khaleej Times, Tuesday, Feb 21, 2023 | Sha'ban 01, 1444
Dubai flights: Passenger traffic at DXB more than doubles to over 66 million in 2022
Emirates:
Dubai International (DXB) passenger traffic more than doubled to over 66 million
in 2022 on the back of a strong recovery.
Following strong results, the world’s busiest international airport raised its
forecast for 2023 to 78 million.
DXB welcomed a total of 66,069,981 passengers in 2022, a year-on year-growth of
127 per cent.
Traffic volumes were propelled by strong growth in the final quarter of the year
during which the airport recorded 19,729,155 passengers, up 67% compared to the
fourth quarter of 2021. It was the busiest quarter since 2019.
December was the busiest month of the year with 7.1 million passengers, the
first time since January 2020 that DXB’s monthly traffic hit the 7 million mark.
Flights
Total flight movements at DXB totalled 96,701 during the fourth quarter,
bringing the annual flight movements to 343,339, a year-on-year growth of 47 per
cent. The average number of passengers per flight reached 204, up 33 per cent
year-on-year.
“We knew it was the year when growth would return to the air travel sector in a
big way, but the surge was much stronger than anticipated and we had to do our
best to turn that challenge into an opportunity," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of
Dubai Airports.
"Thanks to the planning, preparation, and all collaboration and hard work of our
people across the airport community, we were ready to meet the challenge of
rapid recovery in customer numbers while delivering significant improvement in
our service quality across the board,” he added.
Griffiths said 2023 is expected to be another record year for the airport, with
Dubai hosting major international events including its annual airshow and COP28.
"It will be another year of new challenges and opportunities and we are ready
for them." he said.
Cargo
Cargo continued to register a contraction in volumes with 420,125 tonnes
recorded in the fourth quarter, down 31.7 per cent compared to 614,834 tonnes in
Q4 of 2021. DXB handled 1,727,815 tonnes of cargo during 2022, a drop of 25.5
per cent resulting from the moving of all major freight operators back to Dubai
World Central (DWC) and the return of pax-freighter aircraft back to passenger
operations during the year.
"Our top priority in 2023 will be our customers, our people, and sustainability
– three key areas that are crucial to our aspirations and goals as the world’s
busiest global hub, a preferred employer, and a key player and trend-setter in
the world’s aviation industry," Griffiths said.