Dubai International recorded its busiest month on record for passenger traffic in July, with over eight million passengers, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

Passenger numbers in July totalled 8,065,789 compared to 7,616,792 handled in July 2016, a robust growth of 5.9 per cent.

DXB welcomed 51,120,057 passengers during the first seven months of the year, up 6.2 per cent compared to 48,124,043 passengers, recorded during the same period last year.

South America was the fastest growing region in July with traffic surging 59 per cent, followed by Asia at 20 per cent - with China and Thailand as top contributors to traffic from the region, eastern Europe at 16.3 per cent and Africa which grew by 9.1 per cent.

India retained its position as the top destination country with 1,028,508 passengers, followed by the UK (610,151 passengers), and Saudi Arabia (573,170 passengers).

The most popular destinations served from DXB by traffic volume were London, followed by Kuwait, Mumbai, Bangkok and Riyadh.

Flight movements during July reached 34,181, down 4.7 per cent compared to 35,886 movements recorded during July 2016.

Year to date flight movements totalled 240,179 compared to 243,832 movements recorded during the same period last year, a contraction of 1.5 per cent.

With DXB’s ratio of wide-bodied aircraft continuing to drive airport efficiency, passengers per movement peaked to a record high of 243 during July, up 10.1 per cent compared to 220 in July 2016. 

“We have started the second half of the year on a very positive note and with the Islamic festival of Eid Al Adha coinciding with the summer rush later this month, the upward trend is expected to remain strong in the third quarter,” said Paul Griffiths, chief executive, Dubai Airports.