Abu Dhabi sees 22% rise in air passengers in April

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) said on Saturday that passenger numbers at Abu Dhabi International Airport rose 22 percent in April.

The airport saw more than 1.2 million passengers during the month, ADAC said in a statement.

Cargo traffic also continued to grow, reaching 45,261 tonnes, an increase of 19 percent compared to April 2011.

Aircraft movement also registered a six percent increase with 9,893 aircraft movements during April.

Ahmed Al Haddabi, chief operating officer at ADAC, said: "It is encouraging to be seeing sustained growth as we enter the second quarter of the year.

"The positive performance in passenger traffic this month demonstrates the airports healthy growth with more passengers choosing Abu Dhabi International Airport to be their gateway to the rest of the world."

During April, Bangkok registered the highest traffic followed by Doha, Manila, London and Jeddah, ADAC added in the statement.

The growth in April followed similar growth during the first quarter of the year, during which the airport welcomed more than 3.4 million passengers, an increase of 21.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Currently under way is a multi-billion dollar re-development and expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport designed to increase the overall capacity to more than 30 million passengers per year.

As part of this redevelopment, a second runway and a third terminal have been completed.