Today's Edition
RASHA TUBEILEH (ABU DHABI)
The UAE is among the top 20 countries in the world in terms of total passenger numbers for the year 2023, according to a recent report by the Airports Council International (ACI).
The report expected the UAE to maintain its position on the list for the next three decades, between 2023 and 2052.
The report on global passenger traffic forecasts in the long term stated that the UAE is the only Arab country on this list, and it ranks 18th globally in the total number of passengers in 2023 and 20th in the total number of passengers in the long term for the years 2042 and 2052.
The list of countries for the year 2023 includes the United States of America in first place, followed by China, India, Spain, the UK, Japan, Türkiye, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Mexico, France, Indonesia, Russia, Canada, Australia, Korea, the UAE, Thailand and Vietnam.
According to the ACI’s forecasts for the year 2042, China ranks first, followed by the United States of America, then India, Indonesia, Spain, Japan, Türkiye, the UK, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Korea, France, Australia, and the Philippines.
As for the year 2052, ACI’s expects that China will once again achieve first place, followed by the United States of America, India, Indonesia, Spain, Türkiye, Japan, the UK, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, the Philippines, Italy, Korea, Australia, Germany, and France.
ACI indicated that during the next two decades, it is expected that the lead in the global passenger market will shift from countries with advanced economies to emerging and developing countries.
According to data from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the total number of passengers through the country’s airports during the year 2023 exceeded 134 million passengers, with a growth rate of 33% compared to 2022, and a rate of more than 5% over the year 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, which reflects the strength and competitiveness of the UAE aviation sector and its success in gaining great international trust. The number of arrivals to the country’s airports during 2024 reached about 38 million passengers, while the number of departures reached about 37.805 million passengers, and the number of transits reached about 58.328 million passengers.
The aviation sector is expected to record significant growth in terms of passenger traffic in 2024, with the total number of passengers expected to reach 140 million passengers.
The UAE’s airports shine internationally, as Zayed International Airport was ranked among the top three airports in the world in terms of travel experience for arrivals, as part of the “Airport Service Quality for the World 2023” awards, which classify the best airports in terms of quality of services and passenger experience, according to a previous report by ACI.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) was awarded the title of “Leading Airport in the World” during the prestigious World Travel Awards ceremony, which was held in Dubai at the end of last year. This award reinforces Dubai International Airport’s global leadership position in the aviation industry, and further indicates that Dubai International Airport outperforms all airports in the world in the total seat capacity on international and domestic flights registered during the months of January and February 2024, according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) data.
