New Year, new start, as air travel to Dubai jumps

(Dubai Airport)

Growth in air travel to Dubai is set to jump by 17 percent year-on-year in January 2010, according to new analysis of global aviation trends released January 13.

An additional 749,769 seats will be on offer in and out of Dubai International Airport throughout the month - some 3,041 additional aircraft movements. Sao Paulo and Nairobi will also experience healthy air traffic growth, with 16 and 9 percent more flights respectively. Major Western airports, however, are expected to contract in movements, with flights to and from New York's JFK airport expected to drop by 9 percent, Amsterdam Schiphol by 5 percent and London Heathrow by 2 percent.

In total, 2.37 million flights will take to the skies through January 2010, two percent more than the same period in 2009. This means around 294.6 million seats will be available, a 3 percent rise and good news for the beleaguered airline industry.

Europe and North America are both expected to experience a growth in travel to and from their regions, but post a decline inside their respective areas, suggesting that internal travel is not experiencing as fast a recovery as international travel. Asia, the Middle East and Africa air movements are expected to show a strong increase both to and from and within the areas.

OAG Aviation compiles monthly data from global airline schedules to produce its monthly OAG FACTS (Frequency & Capacity Trend Statistics) report.