Abu Dhabi Airport sees over 2.15m passengers

Sunday, Feb 28, 2016

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi International Airport reported on Sunday a 14.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic in January 2016 compared to January 2015, with over 2.15 million travelling through the airport last month.

Aircraft movements in January reached 14,514 — up 2.7 per cent compared to the 14,128 movements recorded in the same month in 2015, Abu Dhabi Airports said in a statement. It added that Bangkok, London, Doha, Mumbai and Jeddah were the top five destinations from the airport, as several other destinations saw significant growth in passenger traffic. Italy surpassed its January 2015 figures by 79 per cent, while Australia saw a 38 per cent increase in the same period.

“The ongoing expansion of Etihad Airways’ operations continues to drive up the number of passengers travelling to and from Abu Dhabi. Its strategic partnerships have also made a significant impact, as highlighted by the recent announcement by Etihad Airways of a 63 per cent increase in annual passenger traffic between India and Abu Dhabi with partner Jet Airways,” stated Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports.

Al Bateen Executive Airport

Meanwhile, Al Bateen Executive Airport, which is also operated by Abu Dhabi Airports, announced on Sunday a nine per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in 2015 over 2014, with 43,278 passengers passing through its gates during the year.

The airport welcomed 2,703 aircraft onto its tarmac, with the Shaikh Zayed Terminal accounting for 80.6 per cent of all arriving passenger traffic throughout the year. The remaining proportion of travellers passed through the VIP Terminal.

Arriving passenger traffic stayed above 7,600 passengers in each of the final four months of 2015, with November clocking the highest traffic figures of 9,454 travellers across its terminals.

Al Bateen Executive Airport’s current capacity stands at 90 private jets, with the airport being the only exclusive business aviation airport in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Staff Report