Dubai International Airport (DXB) has continued to retain its position as the world’s number one hub for international passengers by registering annual traffic of more than 78million in 2015, said a traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.
Boosted by the growth of 100 airlines which link Dubai International to more than 240 destinations across the world, particularly Emirates and Flydubai, the annual passenger traffic at DXB has increased 10.7 percent to touch 78,014,838 passengers last year, in comparison to 70,473,893 passengers recorded in 2014.
The total passenger numbers in December 2015 was 7,053,243, which marked an increase of 8.5 percent in comparison to 6,498,573 recorded during the same month last year, which took the average monthly traffic for the year to a record high of 6.5mn. This is the second time in a year, after August that the monthly traffic exceeds the 7million mark.
During the year 2015, DXB welcomed several new airlines including Air Canada from Toronto, Eurowings from Cologne, China southern from Wuhan, among others, and added 12 new passenger destinations owing to current network expansion of Dubai-based airlines Flydubai and Emirates.
India, the traditionally strong market, continued to be Dubai’s single largest destination country in 2015 marking 17 percent year-on-year growth in 2015, in comparison to 2014.
India is followed by the UK in the second place with 6 percent growth (5,682,307 passengers), followed by Saudi Arabia at 5,466,358 passengers.
As for destination cities served by DXB, Doha retained the top spot with 2,78,600 passengers, closely followed by London with 2,659,602 passengers and Mumbai with 2,214,221 passengers.
The Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths mentioned that Dubai International broke records, engaged and entertained customers in new ways, and marked another banner year, while also retaining its position as the world’s number one international hub.
Meanwhile, DXB is already testing readiness of its latest facility, the $1.2bn Concourse D which will open for more than 70 airlines this quarter, and is likely to play a major role in welcoming millions of passengers in comfort and style, he added.
