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Dubai Airports, the operator of the world’s busiest international airport, is optimistic about the outlook of the air travel industry this year despite suffering a massive decline in passenger traffic in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said on Monday that they are working with airlines on their plans to return to Dubai International (DXB) and introduce new routes.
DXB saw passenger traffic plunge 70 percent to 25.9 million passengers for the full year of 2020, as airlines suspended routes and flyers put off travel plans due to the health outbreak.
Video: Dubai Airports CEO optimistic traffic will return
Despite the traffic decline, DXB pointed out that the air travel sector is already showing signs of recovery “from a markets and destination perspective”.
More destinations served
“There are now 142 destinations (61 percent recovery) served from DXB in 80 markets (85 percent recovery) on 56 airlines (75 percent recovery). There was some growth through the government alliances being made in the latter part of the year, allowing flights to and from Israel,” the airport said.
Among the major markets, India retained its position as the top destination country for DXB by passenger numbers. Flyers travelling to the Asian state from Dubai topped 4.3 million in 2020, followed by the United Kingdom with 1.89 million customers and Pakistan coming in third with 1.86 million customers. Other destination countries are also showing huge traffic, including Saudi Arabia with 1.45 million customers.
In terms of popular destinations by cities, most of the passengers travelling through Dubai’s airport landed in London, accounting for 1.15 million flyers, followed by Mumbai with 772,000 passengers and New Delhi with 722,000 customers.
Still optimistic
The air travel industry has been the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines alone were estimated to lose billions of dollars in revenues in 2020 due to the decline in passenger numbers.
Griffiths said the past year may have presented “the most difficult circumstances” for businesses in the travel sector, but there are reasons to be optimistic.
“We have witnessed the most difficult circumstances the travel industry has ever faced. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt not only in our sector, but across the entire world. These DXB passenger traffic figures are reflective of that testing environment, but also come with an element of hope and confidence,” said Griffiths.
He said an integral part of the recovery for the travel and tourism industry is rebuilding the confidence of travellers.
“And one way to do this is through vaccination programme, similar to what is currently being carried out by the UAE government. This, along with technology that will allow for seamless and contactless travel, will once encourage more people to get on a plane,” said Griffiths.
Last month, Emirates and Etihad Airways announced plans to roll out the International Air Transport Association travel pass, a mobile app that helps travellers manage their journeys easily and securely amid numerous COVID-19 protocols and safety precautionary measures that jurisdictions around the world have implemented.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
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