Abu Dhabi International posts 20.7% January passenger growth

A total of 1,887,631 passengers used the airport, home to Etihad Airways, in January

Dubai: Abu Dhabi International reported a 20.7 per cent increase in the number of passengers flying in January this year when compared to the same period a year ago, management Abu Dhabi Airports said in a statement on Tuesday.

A total of 1,887,631 passengers arrived, departed and passed through the airport, which is home to Etihad Airways, in January, compared to the 1,564,266 passengers in the same month last year.

Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said in a statement that the double-digit growth was challenging the airport’s capacity “every day”.

Last month, passengers were left stranded on planes on the runway after fog caused a number of delays and cancellations. Passengers were reportedly told the airport was too crowded to let them off to wait in the departure lounges.

The number of landings and take offs at the airport increased 18 per cent to 14,128 in January, up from 11,972 a year earlier, according to Abu Dhabi Airports.

The amount of cargo handled at the airport rose 64,479 tonnes, representing an 11 per cent increase on the 57,386 tones handled in January last year.

The top five routes were Bangkok in Thailand, London in the United Kingdom, Doha in Qatar, Manila in Philippines and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The routes accounted for 16 per cent of all traffic last month, Abu Dhabi Airports said.