Change in UAE visa regulations offering Russian visitors visa on arrival last year propelled Dubai World Central’s (DWC) traffic to more than 900,000 passengers in 2017, according to the annual traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.
DWC welcomed 904,940 passengers during 2017 compared to 850,633 passengers recorded in 2016, a robust growth of 6.4 per cent. The annual figures were boosted mainly by a surge in traffic on Eastern European routes which recorded a spike of 168 per cent to take the total number of passengers during the year to 452,631.
Spurred by the change last year in visa regulations that offer visa on arrival to Russian visitors, Russia emerged as the single largest contributor to traffic from Eastern Europe with a growth of 955.4 per cent totalling 279,100 passengers in 2017.
Western Europe also recorded a surge in traffic with passenger numbers reaching 94,452 (+34.6 per cent). Germany was the single largest contributor in the region with 41,671 passengers, propelled by the launch of service by Condor and their partners FTI Group and Meeting Point International that connects DWC with multiple cities across Germany including Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Hannover, Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, as well as Basel in Switzerland.
Airlines that were top traffic contributors at DWC during the year include Wizz Air, Azur Air, Royal Flight, Condor and Ural Airlines.
Freight volumes at DWC are approaching the million mark after growing by 8.3 per cent to 972,295 tonnes during the year compared to 897,998 tonnes recorded in 2016. The airport registered robust growth in the fourth quarter with cargo volumes reaching 267,560 tonnes, up 6 per cent compared to 252,300 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2016.
The airport recorded 34,198 flight movements during 2017 down 11.6 per cent compared to 38,670 movements during 2016. Average passenger per flight movement grew 36.3 per cent during 2017 to reach 129 compared to just 94 in 2016.
“DWC’s performance this year was very satisfying both in terms of passenger numbers as well as cargo volumes. The airport is gaining popularity among airlines operating point to point routes, thanks to the unique advantages of convenience, quick turnaround times, and cost efficiency that DWC offers to carriers and passengers,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.
“DWC will have much more to offer to our airline partners and customers in 2018 as the project to expand the capacity of the passenger terminal building from 5 million to 26 million passengers per annum is nearing completion,” he added.
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