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Increase in Dubai airport’s traffic and freight despite global downturn











Dubai International has maintained its position as the aviation and cargo centre of the Middle East and the world’s emerging aviation hub with a steady growth in passenger and cargo traffic in 2008 and the successful opening of Terminal 3, the world’s largest terminal. Dubai International registered a year-on-year increase of 9.01 per cent in passenger traffic and 9.38 per cent in freight. The airport handled a throughput of 37,441,440 passengers and 1,824,991 tonnes of cargo in 2008 as against 34,348,110 passengers and 1,668,505 tonnes of freight in 2007. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Chairman of Dubai Airports, said the growth was impressive, especially considering the global economic downturn, the record high price of oil during 2008 and the impact of the overall situation on civil aviation and related sectors worldwide. Describing the opening of Terminal 3 as flawless, and a model for airports all over the world to emulate, Sheikh Ahmed attributed the success of its launch to the team spirit among the staff of Dubai Airports, Emirates, and Dubai Duty Free and their cooperation with strategic partners such as the police, customs, and immigration. Since it was formed in October 2007, Dubai Airports has been undergoing major streamlining of its organisational structure; mainly to be more aligned to its corporate objectives, and increasing efficiency to meet and exceed global standards in airport management. The transformation was successfully completed in 2008 and was accomplished by redeployment, thus retaining all existing staff. "It is evident now, in our growth and the world-acknowledged success of Terminal 3’s launch that the restructuring was done right. It was a transformed Dubai Airports that spearhead the opening of Terminal 3 on 14th October," he said. The opening of Terminal 3 has been hailed worldwide as a grand success, in sharp contrast to the chaotic opening of several international terminals in recent years. Sheikh Ahmed said, "Dubai International’s growth in 2008 is a clear sign of the UAE’s sturdy economy and Dubai’s significance, not only to local and regional growth but to travel, tourism and business globally. The momentum of this growth will have a positive influence on ongoing situations as well as the overall projected growth for Dubai Airports for 2009." In 2008, August was the busiest month for the airport in terms of passenger traffic with 3.36 million passengers, while February recorded the highest growth rate at 18.83 per cent. An average of three million passengers passed through Dubai International in 2008, with a daily average of 100,000 passengers. Cargo movement continued its upward trend in 2008 with Dubai Cargo Village registering a growth of 9.38 per cent over 2007. September was the busiest month for the Cargo Village last year with 163,836 tonnes of cargo, up 12.70 per cent over the corresponding month in 2007. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said he was pleased with the achievements of the company during 2008 and especially proud of the role of the staff in the opening of Terminal 3. Highlighting Dubai Airports’ achievements of last year, Mr Griffiths said the preparation for the opening of the new terminal was vital to a successful inauguration and a lot of effort went into the operational trials. Some 15,000 members of the public signed up as volunteers for the three major operational trials, almost four times the initial target of 4,000. Just prior to the opening of T3, Dubai International was handling much more passenger traffic than its actual capacity. The summer of 2008 was therefore the busiest ever at Dubai International and it posed a massive challenge for Dubai Airports. "Anticipating record traffic during the peak season, we launched a summer rush campaign to ease the flow of passengers through our terminals. Some 300 volunteers were deployed around the airport, from parking areas all the way to the concourse, to help and guide passengers," he explained. "Not only was the airport handling more passengers than ever before, but our teams worked very closely with police, immigration, customs and our airline customers to achieve much higher levels of performance. On-time departures improved by 20 per cent over the previous year, whilst there were major improvements in the speed and efficiency of connections, plus many other improvements in customer service overall." Dubai Airports also opened a dedicated express check-in for travellers without check-in baggage, and launched a drive to reach out to passengers with tips on making a smooth passage through the airport. "The summer rush campaign’s success can be gauged from the fact that between June and September, a record 12 million travellers passed through Dubai International without one incident of congestion or delay," Mr Griffiths said. Apart from the opening of Al Majlis’ dedicated facility and the launch of Executive Flight Centre from a new terminal, 2008 year also witnessed Dubai International welcoming major international airlines such as United to the hub; an addition of several new destinations to its network, and as many as nine awards, including Middle East World Travel Awards 2008, Business Traveller ME, and Aviation Business, among others.

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