Dubai Main Airport Sees Over 21.2M Passengers in Early 2023
In the first quarter of this year, over 21.2 million passengers passed through Dubai International Airport's terminals.
DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) (AP). Dubai International Airport saw over 21,2 million passengers pass through the terminals during the first quarter of this year. This is a number that could be approaching the numbers seen before the coronavirus epidemic grounded air travel around the globe.
Dubai Airport, home to long-haul airline Emirates, is one of the busiest airports in the world for international travel. It also serves as an indicator for the global aviation sector.
In a press release, Paul Griffiths (CEO of Dubai Airports) said that the performance of DXB in the first three months exceeded expectations. This reflects the continued growth in demand across all our key markets.
Dubai International Airport is likely to see more passengers as China continues to ease travel restrictions, and Saudi Arabia lifts all pandemic restrictions in preparation for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
The airport announced Tuesday that it has increased its travel forecast for 2023 by more than 5 million passengers, to 83.6 million. In 2019, just before the pandemic hit, the airport served its highest number of passengers ever. It was 86.4 million.
With 7.3 million passengers, March was the busiest month in the first quarter 2023. This is the airport's highest monthly traffic since it had 7.8 million passengers in January 2020.
The airport's usual travel destinations, including India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, have driven the majority of passenger traffic in this year. Russia has also been a significant market, as Dubai is one of the only places that Russians can still visit despite Moscow's conflict with Ukraine.
Tim Clark, Emirates' president last week, acknowledged that the airline still has some double-decker Airbus A380s at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central - a massive facility planned to one day replace Dubai International Airport. Emirates will begin flying fully again in the near future, which means more passengers at DXB and a boost to the vital tourism market.