Abu Dhabi airport passenger traffic up 15.5% in April

Passenger traffic through Abu Dhabi’s airport grew 15.5 per cent in April to 1.87m due to increased flights and new routes by airlines, the operator said on Wednesday.

United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier Etihad Airways added four new routes and with Alitalia, in which it owns a 49 per cent stake, increased flights to Saudi Arabia, a statement from the operator Abu Dhabi Airports said.

Etihad’s partner airlines of Air Berlin, Jet Airways, Air Seychelles also added flights during the holiday season.

Passengers numbers jumped from 1.62 million in April 2014, while cargo volumes rose 19.3 per cent during the month to 71,650 tonnes.

Fast-growing carrier Etihad has ramped up access to the European market by purchasing stakes in multiple airlines, which are now feeding into activity growth at the Abu Dhabi airport.

The busiest routes in April were London Heathrow, Bangkok, Manila, Doha and Mumbai. The five routes accounted for 16 per cent of all traffic.