DUBAI -- Cargo volumes at Dubai World Central, DWC, has grown to 475,190 tonnes in the first half of the year, a year on year increase of 7.1 percent compared to 443,835 tonnes recorded last year, according to the traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports today.

After a robust growth of nearly 9 percent in first quarter, cargo volumes at DWC reached 245,359 tonnes in the second quarter, up 5.4 percent compared to 232,691 tonnes during the same period last year. Passenger traffic at DWC totalled 517,813 passengers in the first half down 6.7 percent compared to 554,993 passengers recorded in the first half of 2017. In terms of passenger volumes, the top regions for DWC during the first half were Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, with 271,000 passengers, from Eastern Europe 98,633 passengers, Western Europe 89,559, and the Middle East 49,671 passengers.

Flight movements during the first half totalled 16,069 compared to 18,373, down 12.5 percent recorded during the corresponding period in 2017. The average passenger per flight movement during the first half was 163 compared to 121 during the first half in 2017, an increase of 34.7 percent.

During the period under review DWC was served by eight passenger carriers, operating an average of 95 flights weekly to 14 international destinations and 26 scheduled cargo operators flying to as many as 70 destinations around the world.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2018.