Airline
passengers continue to flood through Abu Dhabi
International Airport in record numbers,
according to new figures released by the Abu
Dhabi Airport Company (Adac).
In April, the airport saw a 40.9 per cent jump
in passenger traffic from the same period last
year.
The increase is a sharp contrast to the
international growth trend of about five per
cent by 2011, according to the International
Airport Transport Association.
“Larger airports with larger numbers will be
seeing increases, but not at this scale,” a
spokesman for Adac said.
The first four months of this year saw a major
increase for the airport, with passenger numbers
up by 34 per cent from last year’s first
quarter.
In total, more than 703,000 passengers passed
through Abu Dhabi International Airport, up from
501,000 in April of last year. Total aircraft
movements for the month showed a 17 per cent
increase. The Emirates’ rapidly developing
tourism industry is partly behind the airport’s
above the norm passenger figures.
Last year, Abu Dhabi received 1.5 million
tourists, and the government is looking to boost
that number to an estimated three million people
a year by 2015.
“The conference and exhibition scene is
certainly attracting more traffic to the city,”
the spokesman said. “However, we are also
increasing frequencies on routes and introducing
new routes.”
The airport recently began operations with five
new carriers, including Jet Airways from India,
Saudi Arabia’s Nas Air, Nepal’s Fly Yeti, Abu
Dhabi-based MIDEX Airlines, and Cargoitalia of
Italy.
Similarly, Etihad, the national carrier of Abu
Dhabi, recently boosted its weekly flights to
728 for the summer, flying to more than 46
destinations around the world. It has also
increased the frequency to key regional
destinations.
“Abu Dhabi is strategically located and one of
the things becoming relevant is as traffic
continues to grow, connectivity of the Middle
East between East and West is also growing,”
said Rudy Vercelli, chief executive of Adac,
speaking at the annual Airport Show.
The top three destinations served out of Abu
Dhabi – Doha, London and Bangkok – accounted for
18 per cent of the total passenger traffic at
the airport, with Cairo ranking a close fourth,
according to Adac.
India, which is Abu Dhabi’s largest country
market, also saw a 41 per cent increase in
passengers due to greater flight frequencies.
The Abu Dhabi airport foresees growth rates of
more than 30 per cent per year, topping 10m
passengers by 2010. The complex is undergoing
the first phase of a major expansion at a cost
of US$68 billion (Dh250bn).
The first phase will bring the capacity of the
airport to 50m passengers a year once completed.
This year the second runway will be operational
as will the the Terminal 3 project, which was
expected to boost passenger capacity to 12m
people, said Mr Vercelli.
Also this year, construction is expected to
begin on the new midfield terminal complex,
which will eventually take the airport’s
capacity to 90m.
