Aviation hubs in UAE, Saudi Arabia to drive passenger traffic recovery in Mideast

Aviation hubs in UAE, Saudi Arabia to drive passenger traffic recovery in Mideast

CAIRO: Key aviation hubs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are forecast to drive a full recovery of passenger traffic in the Middle East in 2024, with the region set to grow by 4.2 percent annually through to 2040, speakers at the Global Airport Leaders Forum said.

Industry leaders discussed the probability of the region spearheading the global aviation market in terms of passenger traffic recovery, fueled primarily by aviation hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and key cities in Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East is currently leading the traffic numbers in terms of global recovery with 93 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels, said Kashif Khalid, regional director of the International Air Transport Association, during the forum, Khaleej Times reported.

On May 9, Dubai Airports, which owns and manages the operation of both Dubai International and Dubai World Central airports, revised its 2023 forecast upward to 83.6 million passengers.

Dubai’s main airport DXB registered a 55.8 percent increase in passenger traffic in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of last year, reaching 95.6 percent of 2019 levels.

The operator said it welcomed around 21.3 million passengers in the first three months of 2023.

The UAE welcomed around 31.8 million passengers across all airports