Dubai International welcomed 6.8 million customers during May, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

In May 2017 passenger numbers at DXB rose 1.9 per cent to 6,850,052 compared to 6,721,995 recorded in May 2016.

During the first five months of 2017, DXB welcomed 36,969,594 passengers, a year on year growth of 6.7 per cent compared to 34,649,748 passengers recorded during the same period last year.

South America was the fastest growing region in May rising 60 per cent, followed by routes to Eastern Europe which registered a year on year growth of 15.5 per cent, and Asia (9.7 per cent).

In terms of passenger volume, India topped all countries with a total of 1,029,929 passengers, followed by Saudi Arabia (508,613), the UK (451,540), and Pakistan (354,924) while the top cities for passenger traffic were London (292,193), Mumbai (216,173) and Jeddah (178,220).

During the month under review, flight movements totalled 34,544, a contraction of 2.3 per cent compared to 35,369 recorded during May 2016.

Year to date flight numbers reached 175,155 compared to 175,607 flight movements recorded during the same period last year, down marginally by 0.3 per cent.

The average number of passengers per flight was 205 during May 2017, a year on year growth of 1.5 per cent compared to 202 in May last year.

“Considering that we’ve had some record breaking months earlier in the year, including the rush of travellers during the summer holiday and Eid break last week, we are looking forward to robust growth in the first half,” said Paul Griffiths, chief executive, Dubai Airports.