UAE. More than 16.5 million travellers passed through Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2013, up +12.5% on the previous year, setting a new annual record.
Aircraft traffic also registered strong growth, with 135,213 movements, up +11.2%. The top five destinations from Abu Dhabi throughout the year were India, Germany, England, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Operator Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) said the increases were the result of its strategy to continually develop facilities and services to benefit its customers. It added that this strategy has seen new airlines attracted to Abu Dhabi, while existing carriers have expanded their services.
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UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways continued its growth plan during 2013 with the launch of new flights to Washington DC, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Ho Chi Minh, Belgrade and Sana’a, as well as increased frequencies on existing routes. Its new partnership with Jet Airways also triggered a significant increase in traffic from India.
During 2013, the airport also welcomed new routes to Riga in Latvia, operated by Air Baltic, and to Manila, with flights operated by Philippines Airlines.
ADAC Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas said: “Last year was an incredibly busy time for us at the airport and I’m delighted to see everyone’s hard work rewarded by the statistics that show we handled more passengers and freight than ever before, and the airport saw more aircraft arrivals and departures than previously.
“We opened a new arrivals hall for terminals 1 and 3 in 2013 and we made significant progress on our Midfield Terminal Project, which is set to open for business in July 2017 and will increase the airport’s capacity to be able to handle 30 million passengers a year.
“Our growth is complemented by the rapid expansion of Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national airline, as we share together the commitment to world class service levels. With the capacity challenges we enjoy, we fully expect to continue to develop our airports in 2014, and strengthen the emirate’s position as a key global hub for air transport.”
In December, Abu Dhabi International welcomed 1.5 million passengers, up +14.4% year-on-year. Aircraft movements were up +9.9% to 12,052. It was the airport’s second busiest month of the year, after August.
Freight traffic was up +27% to 66,000 tonnes of cargo in December, bringing the total for the year to 706,000 tonnes, up +24.4%.
