Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), has announced a significant increase in the number of passengers traveling through the UAE’s airports during the first quarter of 2023.
The figure showed a 56.3% increase compared to the same period in 2022, indicating the success of the aviation sector in restoring pre-Covid-19 passenger traffic levels.
According to Al Suwaidi, the number of passengers through the UAE’s airports reached approximately 31.8 million during Q1 2023, an increase of over 11.48 million passengers from the same period in 2022.
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He emphasized the aviation sector’s ability to recover and achieve growth and expressed his expectations for continued growth in air traffic in the UAE’s airports this year.
The GCAA Director-General also highlighted the successes of the civil aviation sector in the classification of three national low-cost carriers among the world’s top 20 safest low-cost airlines.
Additionally, according to Al Suwaidi as cited by WAM, the aviation sector has contributed approximately 14% to the country’s gross domestic product.
Moreover, the industry has made significant investments totaling 85 billion dirhams towards the development and expansion of airports, with the goal of accommodating over 300 million passengers annually, the Director-General added.
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