Dubai airport records over 16.6 million passengers in first year of operation

The Concourse D marks its first anniversary on February 24 following a successful inaugural year that saw over 16.6 million passengers enjoy its customer-friendly design and top-flight retail and food and beverage offering.

The Concourse D, which represents the final major piece of infrastructure to be built at the Dubai International Airport (DXB) as part of the $7.8 billion Strategic Plan 2020 programme, was a timely addition to the airport when it first opened its doors for passengers on February 24, 2016, a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com has said.

The $1.2 billion facility became home to 60 international airlines that operate into DXB’s Terminal 1 and connect it to 90 destinations around the world, it said, adding that, the facility increased the annual capacity of the airport from 75 million passengers to 90 million.

“Concourse D is the outcome of a well-designed and meticulously planned project that was built around the evolving needs and expectations of our customers – the hundreds of thousands of passengers that pass through our airport every day,” HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority was cited as saying in the release.

“After a successful first year of operations, it is very clear that Concourse D has achieved its goal of delighting our passengers and our business partners,” Mr Al Maktoum who doubles as the Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group was further quoted as saying in the release.

It said during the first year of operations, Concourse D welcomed 115,118 flights and an estimated 16,686,272* passengers while setting new heights in customer service.

By Pamela Ofori-Boateng