DXB ranks world’s second busiest airport in August

By Arya M Nair, Official Reporter
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Dubai Airport
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Dubai International Airport (DXB) has been ranked as the second busiest airport in the world in August, according to aviation data firm Official Airlines Guides (OAG), a UK-based global travel data provider.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) was the world’s busiest international airport. This month, Amsterdam had around 2.5 million tickets available after the Netherlands declared that travelers from 61 countries on the green list would be allowed to enter the country without having to undergo any testing or quarantine.

Dubai, which has over 2.3 million tickets, opened to tourists in July 2020 and has recently seen an influx of visitors when travel restrictions on flights from India, Pakistan, and other nations were eased. This year, DXB hopes to transport 28 million passengers.

Dubai Airport has reported a 40.9 percent slump in passenger volumes in the first-half of this year, though it anticipates ‘robust growth’ in the second half as travel curbs are relaxed. In the first six months of 2021, the airport served 10.6 million passengers, with 4.9 million in the second quarter.

Some significant Middle Eastern trunk routes have also seen a capacity increase this month, with routes between Cairo-Dubai, and Cairo-Riyadh entering the Top 10, up from 12th and 16th position last month, respectively.

DXB said that India continued to be its top destination country by traffic volume in the first six months of 2021, with more than 1.9 million passengers. Pakistan ranked 2nd with 700,074, followed by Russia (406,209) and Egypt (401,361). Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were among the other notable destinations.

With big international events like the Dubai Expo 2020 and the Dubai Airshow 2021 planned for the months ahead, the passenger numbers forecast for 2021 looks to be very promising, according to DXB.

Related: DXB expects robust growth in air travel as UAE lifts restrictions

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