Dubai International has taken over as the world’s third ranked airport for international passenger numbers, vaulting ahead of Hong Kong International Airport in the global rankings.
According to the annual traffic report issued by Dubai Airports, passenger traffic surged 13.2% to 57,684,550 in 2012, up from 50,977,960 passengers recorded during 2011.
The year-end numbers were bolstered by a record 5,320,961 passengers in December 2012, 13.4% higher than the 4,690,726 passengers recorded in December 2011 and the second month in Dubai International’s 52 year history that passenger traffic has exceeded 5 million passengers.
Aircraft movements for 2012 reached 344,245 movements, up 5.5% from the 326,318 movements recorded in 2011.
Freight volumes rebounded towards the end of last year, helping total volumes for 2012 rise 3.9% to 2,279,624 tons from 2,194,264 tons recorded in 2011. In December, cargo volumes climbed 6.5% from 189,593 tons in December 2011 to 201,949 tons in December 2012.
Source: Dubai Airports