Airline capacity also increased by 2.8 percent in November compared to the previous month
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Airlines around the world added more than 110,000 seats to their flights in November to accommodate the increased flow of tourists and football fans who flocked to Dubai International Airport (DXB) for watch the FIFA World Cup.
Airline capacity increased by 2.8 percent in November compared to the previous month. It was the second-fastest increase after Orlando Airport (2.9 percent), according to OAG International, which provides data on airports and airlines.
The global aviation data provider showed that Dubai International (DXB) remains the busiest airport for international passenger traffic, with 4.2 million seats.
London Heathrow came second with 3.4 million international passenger seats. Both Dubai and London Heathrow came first and second in 2019 as well.
The emirate’s airport was ranked second in domestic and international seating capacity after Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (4.658 million).
Dubai Airports last week revised upwards its annual passenger traffic forecast as third-quarter passenger traffic reached pre-pandemic levels. Dubai International Airport received 18,455,938 visitors in the July-September quarter, the highest number since 17.8 million in the first quarter of 2020.
For the full year, Dubai Airports raised its forecast for 2022 by 1.5 million to 64.3 million after passenger traffic almost tripled in the third quarter compared to the same period of the year past
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Airlines have increased their seating capacity on the Dubai route in order to meet the demand of football fans coming to watch the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Millions of football fans will flock to the Gulf region, especially Doha and Dubai, to watch the mega event.
In addition, the emirate has been rated as the world’s best winter destination by travel package provider ParkSleepFly as it sees a substantial increase in tourist traffic during the winter.
According to OAG data, Dubai-Riyadh, Dubai-Jeddah, Dubai-Kuwait and Dubai-London Heathrow were among the top 10 busiest international air routes in November, reflecting strong air passenger traffic in the Gulf region, driven especially by the recovery of the tourism sector and the FIFA World Cup.
Of the 10 busiest air routes in the Middle East region, seven were connected to Dubai International: Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, London, Mumbai, Delhi and Bahrain.
Travel package provider ParkSleepFly recently ranked Dubai International as the seventh best airport for a stopover, thanks to the proximity of hotels, the availability of a wide variety of F&B outlets and shopping facilities. DXB was ranked alongside Charles de Gaulle Airport (Paris) and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (China).