DUBAI AIRPORTS EXPECTS DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASE IN PASSENGER TRAFFIC

Dubai Airports, the home of Emirates, has stated it expects passenger traffic to increase 11% to 52.2 million in 2011. Passenger traffic for 2010 rose 15.4% to 47.2 million from a year earlier, beating its own forecast of 46.1 million for 2010. Chief executive officer Paul Griffiths says that growth will be driven by Emirates and low-cost carrier FlyDubai. He added that the company is in the process of reviewing starting passenger operations at its second airport, Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International.