Dubai International has retained its title as the world’s number one airport for international passengers after near record numbers in December propelled the hub’s annual traffic to 83.6 million passengers in 2016, according to the annual traffic report issued by operator, Dubai Airports.
With monthly passenger traffic breaching the 7 million mark six times during the year, including the historic 7.72 million traffic in August, DXB’s annual traffic in 2016 totalled 83,654,250 passengers, compared to 78,014,838 in 2015, a robust growth of 7.2%. The surge of travellers during the holiday season boosted monthly traffic in December to 7,706,351, up 9.3% compared to 7,053,243 recorded in December 2015.
Commenting on the announcement, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, "After emerging as the world’s number one airport for international passengers in 2014, DXB has firmly established itself as the leader in that category. With our new forecast for 89 million passengers in 2017, DXB is closing the gap on Atlanta and Beijing for the top spot in overall traffic. We continue to enable that growth and enhance the passenger experience with top flight infrastructure, streamlined processes and technology. Our focus in 2017 and beyond will be on making the airport experience even more delightful, engaging and comfortable for our customers. Our DXB Plus programme will see a series of new and unique initiatives and technologies introduced at the airport to make DXB not only the busiest but also the world’s best international airport."