Abu Dhabi, UAE, 25 April 2009: Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) today released the March 2009 traffic figures for Abu Dhabi International Airport. The figures show an overall passenger increase of 7.9 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year, and a daily average of 24,833 passengers. Aircraft movements also increased by 4.5 per cent.

Abu Dhabi International Airport

For the first time, London has taken the top position as Abu Dhabi's busiest route, with Doha coming a close second. Bangkok ranked third in spite of the recent political unrest, whilst Cairo came in fourth place. Bahrain was the airport's fifth busiest destination for the month, boosted by the arrival of Bahrain Air on 30 March at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The Indian subcontinent saw the strongest growth, driven by Etihad's growing capacity to South India and increased weekly frequencies. Traffic to and from India increased by 32 per cent whilst Pakistan traffic grew 12.7 per cent, making it the largest and second largest markets respectively. The UK remains Abu Dhabi's third largest market with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a close fourth. Strong traffic growth was also registered for Lebanon, up 20.7 per cent.

Mohammed Al Bulooki, Vice President of Airline Marketing and Aeronautical Revenue, said:

"We are happy to say our passenger figures are still growing. Naturally, attracting new airlines contributes to this growth, however we believe the excitement and interest in Abu Dhabi that exists within international markets drives a large part of the growth. With many exciting new developments to look forward to and with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) predicting an increase in capacity for tourism, with 4,000 new hotel rooms coming online in 2009, we expect Abu Dhabi's popularity as a destination for commerce and tourism to continue to increase. All of this contributes to our expansion plan to increase capacity and improve our facilities at Abu Dhabi International Airport."

Mail volumes increased by a massive 39.9 per cent, led by the increase in mail volume to the USA and Australia, and cargo movements made a modest increase of 2 per cent in March.

Abu Dhabi International Airport Traffic Results March 2009

This report summarizes the traffic results for Abu Dhabi International Airport for the month of March 2009, and for the last 12 months – all compared to their equivalent period of the previous year.

• • Passengers include transfer.
• • Any adjustments to preliminary statistics will be included in the year to date results in future months.
  

-ENDS-

About Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC):
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is a public joint-stock company wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. It was incorporated by Amiri Decree number 5, issued on 4 March 2006, to spearhead the development of the Emirate's aviation infrastructure.


In September 2006, ADAC took over responsibility for the operation and management of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain international Airports. In 2008, ADAC added Al Bateen private jet airport, formerly Al Bateen military airbase, and Sir Baniyas and Delma Island Airports to its portfolio. These airports all serve different segments of the marketplace and help contribute to Abu Dhabi’s development as a destination for both business and leisure tourism.

Currently under way is the large scale AED 25 (USD6.8) billion re-development and expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport designed to increase the overall capacity of the airport to more than 20 million passengers per year. As part of this redevelopment, a second runway and a third terminal have been completed. A new ATC tower and Midfield Terminal Complex will complete the redevelopment within the next few years.

For more information, please contact:

Press Office, ADAC – Abu Dhabi Airports Company 
P.O. Box:       94449, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
Telephone:    +971 2   505 3431
Fax:                +971 2   575 8300
Mobile:           +971 50 2205188
E-mail:           mtaifour@adac.ae
Website:        www.adac.ae 
Time Zone:   GMT/UTC +4