Record month at Dubai International / travel

Dubai International has begun 2013 in top gear, setting yet another monthly record by welcoming, for the first time, more than 5.5 million passengers in a single month.

According to the traffic report issued by Dubai Airports today, passenger traffic rose 14.6 per cent to 5,559,760 in January 2013, up from 4,852,139 in the same month in 2012.

Aircraft movements totalled 31,332 in January 2013, climbing 5.6 per cent from the 29,680 movements recorded in January 2012.

Most markets were boosted in January by holiday traffic as well as visitors to the Dubai Shopping Festival.

Air links continue to be expanded between Dubai and Saudi Arabia with Emirates, flydubai, Nasair and Saudi Arabian Airlines all adding new flights in 2012.

During the year Emirates added new flights to Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh while flydubai expanded its network to include Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, Taif, Yanbu and Tabuk.

Saudi Arabian Airlines, meanwhile, added flights from Medina and Riyadh to Dubai and low-cost airline Nasair introduced links between Riyadh and Dubai.

“January’s record passenger numbers confirm that the growth trajectory recorded last year has continued into 2013 and Dubai Airports has taken another steady stride towards the 98 million passengers a year we expect to pass through our airport by the end of the decade,” said chief executive Paul Griffiths.