DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport saw a record 44.9 million travelers pass through its terminals in the first half of this year, bringing the total to 1,000. the world's busiest airport for international travel back on track to break its all-time record as aviation booms following the coronavirus pandemic.
The results released on Wednesday follow a record annual profit for long-haul airline Emirates, which calls DXB home. The results come as Dubai plans to move its operations to a new, nearly $35 billion airfield over the next decade.
In the meantime, a real estate boom and unprecedented tourism figures have made the city-state of the United Arab Emirates not only a stopover, but also a destination for even more travelers.
“Before the pandemic, 60% of people passing through the airport were in transit to other cities or countries. Today, 60% of them arrive in the city and 40% are in transit,” Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports “This is obviously a very good thing, because it means that traffic into the city is very dynamic and sustained,” he added.
The airport handled 89.1 million passengers in 2018, its busiest year before the pandemic. Sixty-six million passengers will pass through it in 2022 and 86.9 million passengers in 2023.
“We are heading towards a forecast figure for the remainder of the year of 91.8 million passengers, which is a new record for us,” Mr Griffiths added.
DXB long served as a barometer for the global aviation industry and Dubai’s broader economic health. The UAE and the airline have recovered quickly from the pandemic by growing tourism, even as some countries have emerged more slowly from their pandemic crises.
Travellers from India passed through DXB terminals in the highest numbers in the first half of the year, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK.
The number of transit passengers from China has increased significantly to around one million, an 80% increase on the same period last year, but levels remain below those seen before the pandemic.
That has caused a jolt at one airport that was briefly closed during the pandemic, and another that is now strained by traffic. In April, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced plans to move DXB’s operations to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) to Dubai World Centralan airfield located in the southern part of the city whose development had been delayed by the repercussions of the 2009 economic crisis in the country.
The aim of the Al Maktoum International Airport expansion is “to try to ensure that the airport is capable of handling some 260 million passengers when it is fully developed. At DXB, we are clearly limited by the space available,” Griffiths said. “We probably have five to 10 years of growth left at DXB, but beyond that, we will need growth in the second phase of DWC.”
Plans call for a curved, white terminal reminiscent of traditional Bedouin tents on the Arabian Peninsula. The airport will have five parallel runways and 400 gates, officials said. The airport currently has only two runways, like Dubai International Airport.
Al Maktoum International Airport, located about 45 kilometers from DXB, opened in 2010 with a single terminal. It served as a parking lot for Emirates' double-decker Airbus A380s and other aircraft during the pandemic. But since then, it has slowly come back to life with cargo and private flights. It also hosts the biennial Dubai Airshow and has a vast empty desert to spread out in.
Sheikh Mohammed's announcement underscored Dubai's plans to expand further south. near the Expo 2020 site offers homes to buyers.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.
