Dubai airport says still top for international traffic

AFP ^ | January 24, 2017 | Staff

[C19fan]

Dubai International cemented its title as the world's busiest airport for international passengers in 2016, with a 7.2 percent increase in traveller numbers to 83.6 million, its operator said Tuesday.

Dubai Airports said "near record numbers" in December had pushed annual traffic at the Gulf hub to 83,654,250 passengers, compared with 78,014,838 in 2015.

[C19fan]

From what I read on Wikipedia Dubai is planning on building a even bigger airport.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I never, ever would have guessed that...or even put Dubai in the top 20. It’s not much of a tourist destination. Population is 2.7M, but temporary workers add 50%. It must be all the temps coming and going.

[pepsionice]

I don’t necessarily believe it’s a destination for most people. In my case for a trip from Frankfurt to New Zealand this fall....I have to route through the hub at Dubai, and will be sitting there for three hours for the next flight.

[Buckeye McFrog]

It is a major stopover point on Europe to Asia routes.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Jets can fly nonstop Europe - Asia/ANZ. There must be a lot of people embarking / disembarking in Dubai.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I know people who travel to India, Hong Kong, Singapore regularly. Dubai is generally a place where they stop.

[RayChuang88]

Yep. The Al-Maktoum International Airport southwest of Dubai (already connected by mass transit) will be bigger than the current Dubai International Airport and there are plans for Emirates to move all operations there eventually, freeing up the land current occupied by Dubai International Airport for other development.

[pepsionice]

I had around 25 hub possibilities to do the Frankfurt to Auckland route. None do Frankfurt direct to there...although I could have done the jump over to London, and then flew the 23-hour direct flight from there.

ON the plus side....it’s Airbus 380 for the two legs there and two legs back.

[Moltke]

The base of Emirates airlines and their advantage of cheap kerosene.

[Scooter100]

I think Dubai is where all the globalist ultra-elites live, isn’t it?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I talked to an Indian friend at work yesterday. He pointed out:
1. UAE has had a 20 year objective to build a world-class air hub.
2. Dubai actually HAS become a vacation destination with a huge number of theme parks including the indoor skiing.
3. It is the major hub Europe - Asia
4. Emirates Air is a world leader in quality flight
5. Dubai is a major gold hub and lots of Indians take the 2-3 hour flight to buy gold before Diwali. They call it the “gold season.”

Isn’t it amazing how the world has changed the past 30-40 years?