The figures for the first half of 2023 are in, and they paint a promising picture for Dubain International Airport (DXB). What’s known as the world’s busiest international hub welcomed 41.6 million guests in that period. Compared to the same period in 2019, that figure is just north of 100 per cent. What that means is the airport surpassed pre-pandemic levels of traffic. And in H1 2022, DXB served 27.9 million passengers. Simple math reveals a jump of 49.1 per cent this year.
Delve deeper into the consolidated reports, and Q2 2023 was especially busy. By catering to 20.3 million guests in the said quarter, traffic surged by 42.7 per cent year-on-year. With 6.9 million passengers, the month of May was the busiest.
India retains the lead as DXB’s top destination country in terms of traffic – 6 million guests in H1 2023. At 3.1 million, Saudi Arabia bags the second spot, followed by the United Kingdom (2.8 million), Pakistan at 2 million, the USA at 1.8 million, Russia at 1.3 million and Germany at 1.2 million. City-wise, London leads the pack with 1.7 million guests in the equation. Mumbai and Riyadh, at nearly 1.2 million passengers each, occupy the second and third spots.
Coming to the flights, DXB handled 201,800 of them in H1 2023. That is 30.2 per cent up year-on-year and up 13 per cent compared to H1 2019. On average, there were 214 passengers per flight, and the load factor was 77 per cent.
DXB handled 853,500 tonnes of cargo in H1 2023. Though that’s 6.2 per cent down compared to 2022 levels, the numbers picked up in Q2 this year. At 453,500 tonnes, the second quarter registered a 16.1 per cent increase year-on-year.
Over 91 international airlines fly to and from DXB. And in the process, connect 257 destinations across 104 countries.
