Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai (SR)

Dubai, Aug 12: An astonishing 41.3 million passengers passed through the Dubai International (DXB) in the first half of 2019, thus maintaining its position as the world’s largest international airport by traffic volume.

The figure would have been much more, had the airport not closed one of its two runways between April 16 and May 30 for refurbishment, leading to reduction of 32 per cent in passenger flights over a 45-day period, according to a DXB press statement Sunday.

As per the press release, total passenger flights during the first six months of 2019 totalled 178,383, down 11.6 per cent from last year, also due to the 45-day closure of the southern runway. In a country wise list of passengers who visited Dubai, India remained DXB’s top destination country by passenger numbers with traffic for the first half reaching 5.7 million customers, Saudi Arabia was number two on the list with 3.1 million customers, followed by the United Kingdom with 2.8 million customers, Pakistan (1.9 million customers), the US (1.5 million) and China (1.2 million).

Dubai International Airport could handle such massive traffic because its advanced operations centre uses real-time information to improve service and efficiency as well as smart gates helped speed customers through immigration, thus reducing the waiting time by 25 per cent in the first half of 2019. A whopping 35 million bags (down 3.9 per cent) passed through the airport’s advanced 175 km long baggage system during the first half of 2019.