Dubai Airports confident of a 'steady but optimistic' outlook in 2021

Airport operator said passenger traffic dropped in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions

The number of passengers through Dubai International exceeded London's Heathrow airport in 2020. Reuters.

Dubai International Airport, the hub of Emirates airline, recorded a 70 per cent drop in passenger traffic last year as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the air travel industry, but it remains upbeat about a rebound.

The number of passengers who passed through the airport fell to 25.9 million last year, Dubai Airports said on Monday.

The airport handled 17.8 million passengers in the first quarter before the pandemic began to affect the global travel industry. Operations dropped significantly during the second quarter as the UAE issued directives to suspend most commercial flights in April.

Dubai, the Middle East's tourism and trade hub, reopened to international visitors in July.

"In the past year we have witnessed the most difficult circumstances the travel industry has ever faced," said Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.

"These DXB passenger traffic figures are reflective of that testing environment, but also come with an element of hope and confidence."

The aviation sector has been among the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic that disrupted travel and forced governments to impose restrictions to curb the virus.

"For the first time in the 60-year history of the world’s busiest international airport, the month of April saw commercial flights come to almost entire halt, as directed by the UAE government," said Dubai Airports.

As Dubai opened its gates to foreign travellers, the airport's  average customer traffic figures in the third and fourth quarter peaked at 1.3 million, it said.

Dubai International handled 183,993 flights in 2020, down 51.4 per cent from the previous year, while the average number of travellers per flight fell by 20.3 per cent to 188.

The airport's annual air freight volume stood at 1.93 million tonnes in 2020, down 23.2 per cent from 2019.

The airline handled flights to 142 destinations in 202, about 61 per cent of pre-crisis routes, it said.

India remained the top destination by passenger numbers, with 2020 traffic at 4.3 million, followed by the UK with 1.89 million and Pakistan with 1.86 million.

The number of passengers who passed through Dubai International, which relies mainly on transit traffic in the absence of scheduled domestic flights, exceeded London's Heathrow airport, where traffic dropped by 73 per cent to 22.1 million in 2020.

"Looking forward, we are confident of a steady but optimistic outlook," said Mr Griffiths.

"We are constantly monitoring future schedules and bookings, working with airlines on their plans to return to DXB and new routes to be introduced."

Passengers arriving in Dubai - in pictures