Dubai passenger traffic up 6%

Passenger traffic at Dubai International Airport climbed 6.0 per cent from a year earlier in July, with monthly traffic surpassing 5 million passengers for the first time, Dubai Airports said on Wednesday.

The airport, one of the world's busiest, handled 5.01 million passengers in July, up from 4.72 million in July 2011.

Annual growth slowed from June's 16.0 per cent, however, because of the impact on traffic of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in July this year and affected Gulf and Middle East routes.

Freight passing through Dubai International climbed 6.2 per cent from a year earlier in July to 204,510 tonnes.

"July's traffic volumes mean that an average of 112 passengers passed through our airport every minute of every day," Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, said in a statement.

"By 2018, when we expect to complete the expansion of Dubai International, that will soar to just under 170 passengers per minute."

Dubai is investing $7.8 billion on the expansion of the airport. Concourse 3, the world's first purpose-built A380 facility, is expected to open once it completes operational readiness tests likely to occur in the first quarter of 2013.

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