Dubai’s DXB has been named the busiest international airport in the world in May based on scheduled capacity despite still being far below pre-pandemic levels.

According to aviation analysts OAG, Dubai International Airport topped the global list with nearly 1.9 million seats even as the UAE remains on the travel red list of the UK, one of the country’s largest source markets.

OAG data showed that DXB was well ahead of the second busiest international airport, Istanbul Ataturk, which had nearly 1.3 million scheduled seats in May.

Doha, Amsterdam and Frankfurt rounded out the top five while London Heathrow, the number one ranked airport in May 2019, was seventh amid ongoing travel restrictions.

Earlier this month, latest air traffic figures at DXB were described as “very encouraging” by Paul Griffiths (pictured below), CEO of Dubai Airports who said they “reflect the consolidation phase in our business recovery” from the global pandemic.

By the end of Q1, DXB said it served 63 percent of the destinations in 89 percent of the countries on 74 percent of the airlines compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Boosted by passenger numbers breaching the 2 million mark in March, DXB’s passenger volumes for the first quarter this year reached 5.75 million.

This translated to a contraction of 67.8 percent compared to Q1 2020, which was largely unaffected by the pandemic related suspension of operations by airlines and airports worldwide towards the end of March.

India, which is traditionally a strong market for the UAE, retained its position as DXB’s top destination country with traffic for Q1 reaching 1,384,448, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Russia.

The top three cities were New Delhi, Dhaka and Addis Ababa.

Earlier this week, Griffiths urged Britain to take the UAE off the UK’s red list, saying he remains “mystified” by the decision.

He said he hoped that the status may soon change and urged the UK government to look again at the data, which he believes should be the primary factor in determining the UAE’s travel status.

His comments come after Arabian Business wrote an open letter to Grant Shapps, the UK’s Secretary of State for Transports, urging him to rethink the UAE’s red list status.

Source Link: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/463951-dubais-dxb-named-worlds-busiest-international-airport-in-may

Author: Arabian Business