Sharjah International Airport witnessed an increase in aircraft movement by 21.6 per cent, cargo by 28.3 per cent and passenger traffic by 45.4 per cent in July, compared to the same month last year. July is considered as the peak season for inbound and outbound travel in the UAE.
When its ongoing expansion is complete early next year, the airport will have the capacity to handle up to eight million passengers.
Passenger numbers at the Sharjah airport rose from 194,993 in July 2005 to 283,483 in July this year, data released by the airport authorities show.
Inbound passengers increased from 83,043 to 121,499 and outbound travellers went from 99,352 to 135,105 in the same period.The number of transit passengers also witnessed an upswing from 4,199 in July 2005 to 18,536 in July 2006. Aircraft movement increased from 3,053 to 3,713.
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Scheduled movements through the airport experienced an upsurge from 2,300 flights in July 2005 to 2,809 flights in July 2006. The increase in the number of unscheduled aircraft movements was from 753 to 904.
The amount of cargo handled by the Sharjah airport increased from 36,355 tonnes in July 2005 to 46,659 tonnes last month.
Imports increased from 5,143 tonnes to 5,936 tonnes while exports surged from 9,001 tonnes to 9,519 tonnes. Even transferred cargo increased from 1,482 tonnes in July 2005 to 6,450 tonnes in July 2006.
As part of its expansion, the Sharjah airport recently opened its new arrivals hall. More facilities are being put in place to ensure smooth movement of passengers and cargo, an airport release said. |