Dubai Airport raises 2023 passenger forecast to 85mln, eyes record winter
Dubai International (DXB) has raised its passenger traffic forecast for the year from 83.6 million to 85 million, just shy of the annual traffic levels reached by the airport in 2019, as it expects record-breaking numbers during the winter season.
For H1 2023, the airport has crossed the pre-pandemic level with 41.3 million passengers, 49% higher than the number recorded for the prior year period, the state-owned operator Dubai Airports said in a statement on Tuesday.
DXB, a major regional hub for international travel, handled 20.3 million passengers in Q2, up nearly 43% year-on-year (YoY). May was the busiest month during Q2 with 6.9 million passengers.
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% shy of DXB’s annual traffic in 2019."
For DXB, India was the top country destination in terms of traffic volume H1 with 6 million passengers.
Saudi Arabia was second with 3.1 million passengers, followed by the UK (2.8 million passengers) and Pakistan (2 million passengers).
London was the top destination city by traffic with 1.7 million passengers, followed by Mumbai (1.2 million) and Riyadh (1.2 million).
Meanwhile, cargo volumes at DXB surged in Q2 by 16% YoY to reach 453,500 tonnes, bringing the total freight volume for the first half of the year to 853,500 tonnes, down 6.2% compared to last year.
