Dubai International Airport (DXB) retained its position as the world’s busiest international airport after recording nearly 29.1 million international passengers in 2021, marking its eighth consecutive year at the top.
Follow Times of Karachi on Google News and add as a preferred Source on Google
DXB handled 29,110,609 passengers during 2021, representing a 12.7% year-on-year increase. The figure was more than half a million above the airport’s forecast, with strong passenger growth during the final quarter helping drive the annual total.
Strong Recovery in Final Quarter
DXB recorded 11,794,046 passengers during the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 77% compared with the previous quarter.
It was the airport’s busiest quarter since the first quarter of 2020 and the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that quarterly passenger traffic crossed the 10-million mark.
December was the busiest month of 2021, with around 4.5 million passengers passing through the airport.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths described DXB’s 2021 performance as impressive despite continued uncertainty caused by the global pandemic.
He said the airport overcame significant operational challenges while continuing to provide safe and smooth travel for millions of passengers amid changing travel rules and concerns over new waves of COVID-19 infections.
Major Milestones for DXB
Several developments contributed to Dubai’s aviation recovery during 2021.
These included the successful hosting of the Dubai Airshow 2021, described as the world’s first major airshow since the beginning of the pandemic.
DXB also returned to full operational capacity following the reopening of Terminal 1, Concourse D and Concourse A.
The airport opened a large in-house laboratory capable of processing COVID-19 PCR test samples on a fast-track basis for visitors arriving in Dubai.
DXB also welcomed several new airlines and routes while supporting the city’s efforts to accommodate international visitors attending Expo 2020 Dubai.
Griffiths expressed hope that international travel restrictions, particularly across the Australasia region, would continue to ease.
India Remains Top Destination
India remained DXB’s leading destination country by passenger volume in 2021, recording approximately 4.2 million passengers.
Pakistan ranked second with 1.8 million passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 1.5 million and the United Kingdom with 1.2 million.
The United States recorded around 1.1 million passengers, while Egypt and Turkey recorded approximately 1 million and 945,000 passengers, respectively.
Among individual cities, Istanbul was the leading destination with 916,000 passengers, followed by Cairo with 905,000, London with 814,000 and New Delhi with 791,000.
DXB was connected to 198 destinations across 93 countries through 84 international carriers during the year.
Flight Movements Increase
Dubai International Airport recorded 77,671 flight movements in the fourth quarter, taking the annual total to 233,375 movements.
The annual figure represented a 28.1% year-on-year increase.
The average number of passengers per flight stood at 154, down 18.9% from the previous year.
Cargo Traffic Remains Strong
Cargo operations also recorded significant growth during 2021.
DXB handled 614,834 tonnes of cargo in the fourth quarter, an increase of 7.5%. Annual freight volumes reached 2,319,185 tonnes, representing a 20% increase compared with the previous year.
Dubai Airports had forecast that passenger traffic at DXB could reach 55.1 million by the end of 2022, while Griffiths indicated that the airport could exceed that figure if the recovery trend continued.
