ALBAWABA – Dubai airport traffic in 2023 exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first half of the year, news agencies reported Tuesday.
Airport traffic jumped 50 percent in the six months to June with more than 41.6 million passengers, compared to the same period last year, Dubai Airports said in a statement.
Reuters, however, reported a 49 percent rise in Dubai airport traffic in 2023 for the first six months.
The second quarter fuelled the recovery to just over 100 percent of traffic numbers in the first half of 2019, according to Reuters, rising nearly 43 percent from the second quarter of 2022.
Dubai airport traffic in 2023 rose to 20.3 million passengers during the second quarter of the year, the operator said.
Overall, traffic in the first half of 2023 also exceeded the number of passengers recorded in the same period of 2019, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"As we recover with our (first-half) traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we continue to remain committed to ensuring every guest who travels through our airport leaves with a smile," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.
Forecasts for the Dubai airport traffic in 2023 have been raised to 85 million, up from 83.6 million.
These forecasts are "just 1.6 percent shy of DXB's (Dubai International) annual traffic in 2019," Griffiths said, according to Reuters.
Overview of Dubai
Dubai airport flew 201,800 flights in the first half, up 30.2 percent year-on-year. May was the second quarter's busiest month, with 6.9 million passengers.
"Dubai Airports is optimistic about the levels of demand and is expecting record-breaking numbers during the winter season," the company said in a statement.
"We’re preparing for an exceptionally busy rest of the year."
Dubai is a tourism and trade hub of the Middle East.
Dubai airport closed briefly to commercial flights from March to July 2020 but was one of the first travel hubs to reopen after the pandemic, as reported by AFP.
That, along with an influx of Russians and business professionals and relaxed social and visa rules, all helped fuel Dubai’s recovery, which has also seen property prices and rents soar, according to Reuters.
In 2020, it received only 25.9 million passengers, down from the 86 million the previous year.
Dubai airport's annual passenger traffic last year was 66.1 million, Dubai Airports said in February.
India was the airport’s top destination in terms of traffic with 6 million passengers in the first half of 2023. Saudi Arabia came in second with 3.1 million, followed by the United Kingdom with 2.8 million and Pakistan with 2 million. The United States, Russia and Germany had 1.8 million, 1.3 million and 1.2 million passengers, respectively, going through Dubai international airport.
