The upward trend in passenger traffic continued at Dubai International (DXB) with the hub welcoming close to 7 million passengers in November 2017, according to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports.

Passenger traffic at DXB reached 6,953,596 in November compared to 6,581,805 recorded in the corresponding month in 2016, an increase of 5.6%. Year to date, passenger numbers at DXB have risen 5.8% to 80,387,442 compared to 75,947,899 recorded during the same time frame in 2016.

Once again, the most significant contribution to passenger numbers came from the Indian Subcontinent and Western Europe. The two regions were up 7.5% and 8% respectively, and more than 1.5 million passengers travelled through DXB from each region in the month of November. These figures were reflected in the top cities, where London (310,551) and Mumbai (217,279) were the highest.

For the first time in four months, Saudi Arabia (534,906) climbed to the second spot in terms of passenger numbers by country, moving in front of the UK (507,796). India (999,625) remained the top destination country for Dubai International.

November’s flight movement figures at DXB totalled 33,421 down 3.7% on 2016, however the average number of passengers per flight during the month remained high at 215, up 7.3% year on year.

Freight volumes handled at DXB during November increased by 0.4% in a year-on-year comparison, with tonnage totalling 235,651 compared to 234,743 for the same month in 2016. The year to date cargo volume reached 2,425,475, up 2.7% from 2,362,332 recorded during the first 11 months of 2016.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said, "Over the past year, Dubai International has witnessed consistent growth in terms of passenger traffic. Given the high passenger traffic volumes we welcomed in December we anticipate ending the year on a positive note."