UAE airport growth not impacted by volcanic ash crisis
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The UAE’s major airports have claimed the volcanic ash crisis did little to impede growth in April.
Although many flights between Europe and the UAE were disrupted or cancelled during the month, passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport increased 13.9% and year-to-date passenger traffic increased 18.7%.
“To record double-digit growth during a month where more than 500 flights were cancelled is impressive,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
“So far we are outpacing our projections for 13.6% growth during 2010.”
However, the volcanic ash cloud did leave some anomalies in Dubai’s passenger figures. Traffic to Europe rose by just 1% and Doha temporarily ousted London as the airport’s most popular destination.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) reported a passenger traffic increase of 10.1%, to 866,475.
London, Doha, Bangkok, Manila and Jeddah were the top five city destinations, while the US was the fastest growing country destination for the month, with a 160% increase in passenger traffic over the same period in 2009.
This growth can largely be attributed to the launch of Etihad’s Chicago route and its growing connectivity to the American market through its code share agreement with American Airlines.
April 2010 saw aircraft movement increase by 11.1%, compared to the same month in 2009, while cargo movement through the airport also increased substantially with tonnage handled up by 21.3% over the same month in 2009.
“In spite of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the volcanic ash cloud that spread from Iceland across Europe during several days in April and thereby grounding numerous flights to and from the continent, Abu Dhabi International Airport continued to record double-digit growth, which is a great result,” said ADAC Senior Vice President of Airport Operations Ahmed Al Haddabi.
“The increases illustrate the strong fundamentals of our economy and the strength of our tourism offering in Abu Dhabi. ADAC will remain focused on enhancing the facilities and services we offer to our passengers, and to attracting new airlines to our airport hub.”
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