Dubai Airport passengers number tops 9mn in Q1 ‘08

Dubai: Passenger throughput at Dubai International Airport crossed the 9-million mark in the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 15.11% over the corresponding period in 2007.

With a total of 34.34 million passengers in 2007 the airport registered an increase of over 19% over 2006. Passenger throughput is expected to cross 40 million this year and reach 60 million by 2010.

The airport handled 9.3 million passengers from January to March this year, as compared to 8,114,762 in the first quarter of 2007. March was the busiest month with 3.25 million passengers, while February registered the lowest at just over 2.97 million passengers, said a airport press release here.

The total tonnage of cargo handled during the period under review reached 399,718 tonnes as against 362,919 tonnes during the first quarter of 2007, an increase of over 10%. March was the busiest month for cargo with over 144,954 tonnes, while February showed a greater year on year growth at 12.1%.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, said “the report is very encouraging and will set the tempo for the remainder of the year."

“The region’s aviation sector is the world’s fastest growing, and Dubai being the regional hub for trade, tourism and aviation, a consistent increase in passenger throughput at DIA shouldn’t come as a surprise," he added.

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