Dubai airport passenger traffic slips in July

Passenger traffic through Dubai's main airport dropped 2.9 percent from a year earlier to 5.16 million people in July, as construction work temporarily reduced its capacity, operator Dubai Airports said on Sunday. Dubai International, one of the world's busiest airports, cut back flights by about 26 percent for a period of 80 days from May 1 as both its runways were in turn refurbished and upgraded. Normal service resumed on July 21.
Passenger numbers rose 4.9 percent to 39.83 million people in the first seven months of the year. Cargo volume in July dropped 10.7 percent to 184,720 tonnes, while in the first seven months, volume totalled 1.37 million tonnes, down 3.1 percent. All dedicated freighter services moved permanently to Al Maktoum International, Dubai's other major airport, by May 1.