IANS

Dubai, Aug 20: The Dubai International Airport saw an increase of passenger traffic in July, registering a 12.6 percent growth, the highest since May 2008, WAM news agency reported on Wednesday.

It is also the second consecutive month of double-digit growth in passenger traffic this year following the 10.3 percent rise in June.

The airport handled a total of 3,768,965 passengers in July compared to 3,347,655 during the corresponding period in 2008.

The passenger traffic between January and July stood at 23,148,452 passengers, up 6.1 percent from the same period last year.

The airport handled 160,289 tonnes of cargo in July, compared to 157,253 tonnes during the same period last year. The total volume of cargo this year totaled 1,035,118 tonnes compared to 1,038,807 tonnes in 2008, a marginal fall of 0.3 percent.

"The Middle East continues to demonstrate vibrant growth during the global economic downturn and Dubai International (Airport) is at the epicentre of that growth," said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports in the United Arab Emirates.

"The double-digit increases we've seen in the past two months are the direct result of a boost in passenger numbers from Emirates and other long-haul network carriers and continual growth in the low cost sector. As for cargo, considering that airports around the world continue to record sharp decline in freight traffic, we have fared well," he added.