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Dubai: A record 34 million passengers are expected to pass through Dubai International Airport in 2007, enabling it to report year-on-year growth of 18 per cent, according to the Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA) department.
Results from the first nine months show that the airport is well on track for such growth.
Passenger throughput reached 25.4 million between January and September compared with 21.3 million for the same period in 2006, according to DCA. The number of freight tonnage carried through Dubai Cargo Village also rose by 11 per cent, to 1.13 tonnes as compared with 1.02 tons with the corresponding period.
Dubai airport, which is currently undergoing a Dh15 billion ($4.1 billion) expansion, is the largest aviation hub in the Middle East and North Africa. Aircraft movements grew by 10 per cent, from 174,700 flights for the first nine months of 2006 to 192,000 flights so far this year.
"Any airport operator would be satisfied with this kind of growth approaching 20 per cent," said David Kaminski-Morrow, an editor at London-based Air Transport International. He attributed the success to its status as an open skies airport, its position as a connecting hub, especially for fast-growing Asian routes, and the expansion of Emirates and Dubai itself as a business destination.
Since 2000, passenger numbers at the airport have risen by at least 15 per cent each year, leading to capacity constraints that should be alleviated with new facilities opening in May 2008.
Dubai airport was designed to handle 25 million passengers, a level of traffic reached in 2005 when it carried 24.8 million travellers. In 2006, the airport handled 28.8 million passengers. The robust growth propelled the airport up the rankings to become the 10th largest airport by international traffic, according Airports Council International. Today Dubai International is used by 118 international airlines flying to more than 200 destinations.
So has Dubai airport become a victim of its own success?
"Absolutely," said a DCA spokesperson. "That's why the expansion arriving in May 2008 is so important."
That's when the first facilities of Terminal 3 and Concourse 2 open to the public, adding substantial capacity. By 2010, Dubai airport will be able to accommodate up to 75 million passengers.
Emirates airline, which accounts for up to 60 per cent of the traffic, will begin moving to the new concourse facilities, freeing up space for other airlines.
Kaminski-Morrow said Dubai aviation authorities have managed the growth well, and that the rise in passenger numbers hasn't led to problems that often arise when airports become crowded.
"This doesn't appear to be the case at Dubai - it has a new terminal building, and the city is already well on its way towards opening World Central Airport which ought to be able to cope easily with future demand," he said.
Dubai is building a second international airport at a 140-square kilometre site in Jebel Ali, which, once completed, will have six parallel runways, six concourses, two terminals and serve 120 million passengers by 2015.
Together, both airports will have the capacity to serve 190 million passenger annually.
How has the increased number of air travellers impacted the service at the airport? Do you find it to be improved?
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