In 2012 Dubai International Airport welcomed record number of passengers. As a result, Dubai overtook Charles de Gaulle in Paris to become the second busiest international airport in the world.
As said in a statement by Dubai Airports, Dubai International overtook Charles de Gaulle in Paris in terms of international passenger traffic for the first time. Due to this, Airports Council International (ACI), a global airport body, has ranked it as the second busiest international airport in the world.
According to figures which were recently released by ACI, Dubai International recorded 4.8 million passengers in February. In the same period, London's Heathrow topped the list and recorded passenger traffic of 5.6 million. Meanwhile, Paris' Charles de Gaulle could manage 4.7 million passenger traffic in the same period.
ACI statistics claim that Dubai International has already moved up two positions in global rankings since the beginning of 2013. According to Paul Griffiths, who is the Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, the higher rankings indicate that more people have started preferring Dubai because of its extensive global network as well as facilities on the ground.
Needless to say, Dubai International is eyeing the number one title and wants to surpass London's Heathrow by 2015. According to Paul Griffiths, Dubai International has been rapidly growing in comparison to London's Heathrow, which has some capacity constraints.
Analyst Saj Ahmad, from Strategic Aero Research said that more people have been traveling via Dubai in the last few years. As a result, Dubai International has been able to consistently grow. According to Ahmad, FlyDubai and Emirates' expansion plans have helped Dubai International to take over the number two spot. “Within two years, Dubai International will be able to overtake Heathrow," said Ahmad.
Dubai International connects over 220 destinations in the world. Flights from Dubai International pass through six continents through 130 different airlines. As a result, the airport witnessed a growth of 13% in passenger traffic in the first two months of 2013. Moreover, there was an 11.4% increase in passenger traffic in February as compared to the same period in 2012.