Dubai International Airport sees busiest month on record in July

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, handled a record number of monthly passengers in July even as the number of flights declined.

The number of passengers using the airport increased 5.9 per cent to 8.07 million compared to same month a year earlier, operator Dubai Airports said in a statement on Tuesday.

That was slightly higher than the record 8.04 million passengers in January this year, the airport said.

The number of flight movements – or landings and take-offs – declined 4.7 per cent to 34,181, whilst the number of passengers per movement increased 10.1 per cent to 243.

In June, the United Arab Emirates and three other Arab countries banned flights to and from Qatar as part of sanctions imposed on Doha over its alleged support for terrorism and Iran – charges Qatar denies.

Dubai Airports did not mention the regional crisis in its statement.

The airport handled 213,258 tonnes of cargo, which was 5 per cent more than the same month a year earlier.

The most popular destinations by traffic volume were London, Kuwait, Mumbai, Bangkok and Riyadh.