Dubai International (DXB) welcomed 22.2 million passengers in the first quarter of 2019, down 2.2% from the same period last year due largely to reduced flights and a shift in the timing of the Easter holiday.
Cargo volumes increased 4.1% in the same period to reach 641,250 tonnes, according to a statement released by the company.
Key facts and figures
Customers served: Total of 22,230,810 customers were served during the first quarter of 2019 (-2.2%). The average monthly volume of 7.41 million was slightly lower than the average monthly traffic of 7.42 million recorded in 2018.
Cargo: A total of 641,250 tonnes of airfreight was handled at DXB during the first three months of 2019 up 4.1%.
Flights: Total passenger flights during the first three months of 2019 totalled 95,857, down 3% from last year partially due to the grounding of 737 Max aircraft in effect since March 13 in the UAE.
Top destinations
India continued to hold to its position as DXB’s top destination country by passenger numbers, with traffic for the quarter reaching 3,121,809 – propelled mainly by top city destinations Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin.
Saudi Arabia was number two on the list with 1,745,750 customers, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 1,511,917customers. Other destination countries worthy noting, included: Pakistan (1,159,722 customers), the U.S. (764,489 customers), Germany (690,062 customers), China (620,013) and Russia (414,445).
The top three cities were London (871,180 customers), Mumbai (624,442) and Jeddah (605,628 customers).
Countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), was the fastest growing region with growth of 3.8%, followed by North America with 2.7% growth.
GCC countries include: Saudi Arabia,Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
Waiting Times: Wait times were reduced by a whopping 30%* in Q1 2019, thanks to DXB’s advanced operations centre which uses real-time information to improve service and efficiency, as well as the smart gates that help speed customers through immigration.
Baggage volumes: 13.3 million bags (-0.9%) passed through the airport’s 175 km long baggage system during the first quarter of the year.
About Dubai
Airports
Dubai Airports manages the operation and development of both of Dubai’s airports – DXB and Dubai World Central (DWC). As an integrator, Dubai Airports works to balance the interests of all stakeholders to maintain aviation growth, protect operational resilience and ensure that service providers collaborate to provide a safe and secure service and improve the experience of our customers whilst maintaining a sustainable business.
DXB is the world’s number one airport in terms of international passenger traffic and number three globally in terms of total passenger traffic as reported by Airports Council International.
Some 73 passenger carriers connect DXB to 221 airports in 215 cities across 95 countries.