Record passenger traffic at Dubai Airport on New Year’s Eve

Dubai International Airport saw record numbers of arrivals and departures on New Year’s Eve, with a total of 105,326 using the airport on December 31st.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director-General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigner’s Affairs in Dubai said 669,093 passengers travelled through Dubai International between December 28th and December 31st, with 389,290 people arriving in Dubai and 288,803 departing.

The Director-General said early preparation between different departments in the airport played a major part in making sure everything ran smoothly during the heavy rush, and that a special team had been set up to help with the increased passengers.

2016 as a whole was a record breaker. Aircraft movements between January-October 2016 totalled 347,463 compared to 337,426 movements recorded during the same period last year, an increase of three percent.

Some fast facts include:

• Dubai International comprises three terminals
• Terminal 1 (includes Concourse D) serves all airlines
• Terminal 2 serves scheduled, charter and special flights (pilgrimage)
• Terminal 3 (includes Concourses A, B and C) is dedicated for use by Emirates airline.

• DXB strengthened its position as world’s number 1 international airport with annual traffic of 78 million passengers in 2015. Traffic is projected to reach 83 million in 2016.

• DXB became the world’s number 1 airport for international passengers in 2014 with passenger numbers totalling 70.4 million

• The airport serves 90 airlines flying to more than 240 destinations across six continents.

Photo credit: Genlab Frank

Read the January 2017 edition of Business Review Middle East

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