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Dubai International is poised to overtake Heathrow (pictured) as the number one airport for international passenger volumes |
UK. “Dubai’s announcement that it has overtaken Heathrow in the last two months shows that the UK will soon no longer have the world’s number one airport for international passenger traffic.”
Heathrow Airport CEO Colin Matthews today acknowledged that Dubai International’s surging growth will mean it will replace the UK airport as the world’s biggest airport by international passengers. Final figures have yet to be released but Dubai will report higher international passenger numbers than Heathrow over a two-month period for the first time. Dubai’s rise to number one status has been anticipated in recent years, as its growth has powered ahead and Heathrow’s growth has slowed.
Matthews added: “We want Britain to continue to compete globally against the best hub airports in the world but without a third runway, Heathrow’s comparative decline will make the whole of the UK a less attractive to do business.”
Heathrow Airport handled 5.8 million passengers in March, down by -2.8% on March 2013. The dip reflects the shift of Easter holidays into April this year, from March last year.
The strongest traffic performances were to and from emerging markets, with Mexico up +19%, China up +11.6% and Turkey up +7.2%.
Seats per aircraft increased 1.9% while load factors decreased 3.6 percentage points, to 72.2%. Passengers per aircraft decreased -3% to 146.6.
