The UK?s Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy has predicted that the Dubai International Airport is set to become world?s busiest international airport by first half of 2015
Saj Ahmad, an aviation analyst, said, ?It is a given now that by the end of Q1/Q2 2015, Dubai International Airport will take the global top spot off London?s Heathrow as the world?s busiest airport and stay there for years to come.?
Atlanta?s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the world?s largest airport in terms of traffic ? it hosted 94mn passengers last year. Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports, however, said that Dubai is likely to overtake Atlanta before the end of the decade.
Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy, added that it can be expected Dubai will power ahead, having earned the right to the title of world?s leading airport. ?Dubai has integrated a global travel and tourism product between airport and airlines, and created conditions for growth to benefit from the double-digit traffic opportunities from Africa, Asia and the Middle East,? Morris noted.
According to the consultancy, Dubai International Airport had 34.6mn passengers since January 2014, while London?s Heathrow Airport hosted 35.1mn. Both airports are likely to cater to 70mn passengers this year.
However, maintenance work on Dubai International Airport?s runways had reduced traffic by nearly 26 per cent over May and June 2014. During this time, flights were diverted to Dubai World Central.
Despite the closure, the airport witnessed a growth rate of 6.2 per cent year-on-year, while Heathrow Airport posted a growth rate of 1.2 per cent.
