Traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport rose 21.5 per cent year on year last month, confirming expectations of passenger growth that prompted the airport’s ongoing infrastructure expansion.
A total of 1.71 million passengers passed through the airport last month, compared with 1.41 million in February last year, the operator Abu Dhabi Airports said.
“The monthly traffic figures continue to match the long-term forecasts of growth in passenger numbers, with airlines connecting a growing number of new destinations with Abu Dhabi International Airport,” said Ahmad Al Haddabi, the chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports.
The top five routes last month were Bangkok, London Heathrow, Manila, Doha and Jeddah, accounting for 16 per cent of the total traffic.
Arabian Gulf airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are aspiring to become international hubs supported by the expansion of their respective carriers and their strategic location connecting passengers flying from east to west.
The chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports, Ali Majed Al Mansoori, last week said that demand on infrastructure at the airport would be at a critical level by the end of next year, when annual passenger numbers reach 27 million.
That will come just as the new Midfield Terminal will be ready to open in 2017.
The airport is expected to handle between 23 million and 24 million passengers this year at its three existing terminals compared to 20 million passengers last year, the chairman said last week. The airport has handled 3.6 million passengers in the first two months of the year, up from 2.97 million in the same span a year ago.
Saj Ahmad, the chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, said that Etihad Airways’ expansion and minority stake investments in other airlines have had “a net-positive effect” on the sharp rise in traffic at the airport.
“The Midfield Terminal does indeed look like it will open on track in July 2017,” said Mr Al Haddabi?
“The problem for Abu Dhabi International is that the demand pull through Etihad is translating into far higher traffic flows – in some ways, you could argue that the Midfield Terminal should have been started earlier,” he added. To accommodate the increase in traffic, the airport has been undergoing a Dh1.5 billion capacity enhancement programme of its existing terminals.
The first phase of the programme included the installation of X-ray machines and 350 metres of walkways connecting arrival gates to immigration and flight transfer facilities, and the free movement of arriving passengers transferring to Terminal 3.
Nine wide-body aircraft stands have also been added, and a new road network is expected to be completed within the next month.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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