Dubai International Airport saw a 6.2% increase in passenger traffic in September, its operator said on Tuesday.
Dubai Airports said in a statement that passenger traffic reached 4,236,587 last month compared to 3,988,804 recorded during the same month in 2010.
The year to date traffic reached 37,547,744, an increase of 7.8% over the corresponding period last year.
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The GCC recorded the largest increase in total passenger numbers in September, followed by Western Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Russia and the CIS, the statement added.
Traffic on Middle Eastern routes continued to decline last month due to the impact of the Arab Spring, while traffic on African routes was also down slightly.
The strongest markets in terms of percentage passenger growth were Russia (up 33.9%) driven by flydubai's expansion in the region, the GCC (up 31.9%) as a result of growth in traffic to Saudi Arabia, and North America (up 17.6%) as both demand and capacity increased on routes to Los Angeles, Houston and New York.
Aircraft movements for September totalled 26,860, up 6.8% from 25,145 recorded during the same month in 2010.
Dubai International handled 177,128 tonnes of freight last month, a contraction of 5.5% as volumes continued to reflect economic uncertainty and flagging consumer confidence.
The year to date freight volumes reached 1,610,398 tonnes, a marginal decrease of 1.7%, Dubai Airports added.
"We have had a good year so far in terms of passenger traffic and with the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj just a few days away, we expect to see already robust passenger numbers surge over the coming weeks," said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.
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