Dubai International Airport (DXB) reached 95.6 percent of pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels in the first quarter of this year, prompting a revision to its annual outlook for an upward trend amid strong travel demand.
Dubai Airports said on Tuesday that the airport welcomed 21.2 million passengers during the first three months of the year, up 55.8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022.
The state-owned company added that this was the first quarter since October and December 2019 when average monthly traffic reached seven million passengers.
March was the busiest month in the first quarter with 7.3 million passengers, and also the highest monthly movement since January 2020 when Dubai International recorded 7.8 million passengers.
Read: Over 11.48 mn more passengers in UAE airports in Q1
The achievement follows Dubai International Airport’s impressive results last year with 66 million passengers and retained its top spot in the list of the world’s busiest international airports for the ninth consecutive year.
Dubai International Airport connects to more than 234 destinations through 89 international airlines in 99 countries around the world.
Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Airports, said: “DXB’s performance in the first quarter exceeded all expectations, reflecting the significant increase in demand we are witnessing in our key markets. With significant developments in the international travel industry including the relaxation of travel protocols in China, annual peak periods of domestic travel and the holiday season, we are very optimistic about the results for the second quarter and the rest of the year.”
“Therefore, we have revised our passenger traffic forecast for 2023 to 83.6 million, which puts us within walking distance of reaching the annual traffic figures recorded in 2019.”
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