Dubai: Dubai International Airport (DXB) is set to welcome 91 million passengers in 2024, surpassing its previous record of 89.1 million in 2018. The first three months of this year saw 23 million passengers use DXB, indicating strong growth despite April's rains.
"We have 250,000 passengers going through the airport every single day," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.
"Over the year, I don’t think this [the rains in April] will have a significant impact because we’re back to normal operations."
Griffiths emphasized that short-term disruptions won't affect the long-term outlook.
"People are still arriving and departing as they would normally. A few days of disruption will disrupt numbers in the short term, but in the longer term, I don’t think we’ll have a particular problem", he said.
DXB's performance in the first quarter of 2024, with 23 million passengers, marked an 8.4% increase from the previous year. January was the busiest month with 7.9 million passengers. Total flight movements reached 109,238 in Q1, an 8.3% year-on-year increase, with a load factor of 79.1%.
"As Dubai emerges as a global leader for attracting talent, businesses, and tourists, our focus remains on sustaining growth momentum and enhancing the overall airport experience," Griffiths added.
Higher forecasts for 2024 come as Dubai carriers Emirates and Flydubai add new destinations and increase flight frequencies. Griffiths remains optimistic about passenger demand, stating it continues to "surprise us every time we revise the forecast."