Emirates airport crisis worsens as passengers’ numbers drop

The total number of passengers through Dubai World Central Airport, Al Maktoum International, reached 326,680 passengers in the first quarter of 2019, declining 2.3% year-on-year.

The airline attributed this decline to fluctuations in aircraft leasing operations, while the total take-off and landing movements from the airport declined by 3.2%

On the shipping side, 43,114 tons of goods were transported in the first quarter of the year, down 9.3% year-on-year.

The number of passengers in the second quarter is expected to rise as a result of the closure of a runway at Dubai International Airport. Some of the airlines’ flights to Al Maktoum Airport will be diverted during the runway development phase, which runs from April 16 to May 30, 2019.

Al Maktoum International Airport has 11 airlines operating 146 weekly flights to 31 international destinations. It also has 18 cargo carriers to 45 cities around the world.

The Dubai Airports Foundation announced a week ago that the number of passengers through Dubai International Airport dropped 2.2% year-on-year to 22.2 million in the first quarter of this year.

Partly due to the suspension of the Boeing 737 Max worldwide and a 3% drop in flights.

Dubai airport witnessed a slowdown in growth during the last year, and in 2018 the airport received 89.1 million passengers, which is below the target of 90.8 million.

Flydubai, the hub of its operations at the airport, has shut down all its 737Max aircraft, which have forced it to cancel dozens of flights.

Other airlines using the airport have shut down the aircraft, while Emirates, the main airline operating at the airport, does not operate Max.

Dubai airport witnessed a slowdown in growth during the last year, and in 2018 the airport received 89.1 million passengers, which is below the target of 90.8 million.