Dubai International Airport has raised its annual passenger traffic forecast for 2022 to 58.3 million, from an earlier projection of 57 million.
The world’s busiest international airport recorded its busiest quarter since 2020 in the first three months of this year.
Passenger traffic more than doubled during the reporting period to 13.6 million travellers, from 5.7 million in the same quarter a year ago, state-owned operator Dubai Airports said on Thursday.
The recovery recorded over the past consecutive quarters was initially led by point-to-point traffic, which continues to exceed pre-coronavirus levels, said Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.
However, the opening of borders in many key markets resulted in transfer traffic rebounding to 60 per cent of 2019 levels, he said.
The airport's performance is a “direct outcome of Dubai's clear strategy and efforts to restore international air connectivity and mobility, and lead the global aviation industry out of an unprecedented crisis”, Mr Griffiths said.
Dubai International Airport currently serves 193 destinations across 92 countries through 73 scheduled international airlines.
The emirate hosted about four million visitors in the first quarter of this year, a more than fourfold increase from the same period last year, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said on Tuesday.
The emirate was also ranked first in the world in terms of hotel occupancy rates, with hospitality establishments 82 per cent full on average in the first three months of 2022, he said.
Flight movements at Dubai International Airport during the first quarter increased by 5.8 per cent a year to 81,966, the airport operator said.
India held its long-standing position as the airport’s top destination country, with passenger traffic reaching 1.6 million, followed by Saudi Arabia (1.1 million), Pakistan (997,000) and the UK (934,000).
The top three cities in terms of passenger numbers were London (617,000 passengers), Riyadh (517,000) and Jeddah (337,000).
The airport handled a total of 519,555 tonnes of cargo during the first three months of 2022, down from 550,811 tonnes in the same period a year ago.
Dubai International Airport through the years
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THREE
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Jetour T1 specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
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PRISCILLA
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
