The United Arab Emirates witnessed a remarkable surge in the aviation sector with one million air movements in 2024, solidifying its position as a global leader in air transportation.
According to the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Emirates Airline of Dubai recorded one million air movements with flight EK 305 arriving from Shanghai on December 22.
The aviation sector in UAE experienced rapid development, with passenger traffic and seat capacity expanding. Thus air traffic grew 10.3 percent in 2024 compared to 2023.
“Achieving the milestone of one million air traffic movements in a single year is not a mere numerical achievement but a reflection of the UAE’s steadfast commitment to developing the aviation sector as a cornerstone of its national economy,” said Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, minister of economy and chairman of GCAA was quoted by Khaleej Times.
98M passengers in 8 months
The country’s airports reported almost 98 million passengers in the first eight months of 2024, highlighting a rather strong 12.6 percent annual increase.
The number of seats available with the carriers of UAE this year was, 87.1 million and if compared with 2023 it is higher by 10.5 percent and in 2019 it was higher by 15 percent.
The country’s aviation infrastructure has been active with the airports accommodating more than 4,00,000 passengers and managing over 10,000 tonnes of cargo daily.
Major domestic airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, and Air Arabia have significantly contributed to this expansion as they provided service of 6.39 million seats in December 2024 only.
Dubai International Airport continued to retain its position as the world’s most busy international airport, thus surpassing even Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by offering more combined flight capacities during the year.
Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi also recorded impressive growth, with passenger traffic increasing by 33.8 percent year on year to 13.7 million in the first half of the year 2024.
