[ad_1]
Dubai International (DXB) catered for more passengers in the first half of this year than it did during the same period in 2019 as the airport marked a “significant milestone” in its post-Covid recovery.
The Gulf hub and home of Emirates welcomed 41.6 million passengers in the first six months of 2023 – just ahead of 2019’s traffic levels and 49.1 per cent higher than in the first half of 2022 when passenger numbers reached 27.9 million.
India was Dubai’s top market with 6 million passengers followed by Saudi Arabia (3.1 million) and the UK (2.8 million), while London was Dubai International ’s number one destination with 1.7 million passengers. Other major European markets were Russia (1.3 million passengers) and Germany (1.2 million).
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said: “We started the second half with strong demand in July, and with the ongoing seasonal peak coinciding with the reopening of schools in August, we’re preparing for an exceptionally busy rest of the year.
“We’ve readjusted our forecast for the year from 83.6 million guests to 85 million, just 1.6 per cent shy of DXB’s annual traffic in 2019.”
Dubai has recovered faster than most of Europe’s main hub airports during the first half of 2023 – although traffic at London Heathrow, currently Europe’s busiest airport, was only 4.3 per cent lower than in 2019 at 37 million.
[ad_2]
Source link