Abu Dhabi Airports continues passenger growth

Total traffic for January to June reached 11,848,359, million passengers, representing a 6.6% increase from the 11,111,577 in the first six months of 2015.
The number of people passing through Terminal 1 saw the largest increase, reaching 4,790,469 — a 22% growth from 3,918,322 in 2015.
The most popular destination in June was Bombay. There was a 26% rise in traffic to the Indian destination compared to the same month last year, with figures up from 55,991 to 70,312. Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national carrier, incorporated the Indian city to its A380 service earlier this year in May.
Traffic to and from Doha and Jeddah both grew by 12% in June, with passengers increasing from 53,912 to 60,395, and 52,342 to 58,816, respectively. Analyst Saj Ahmad said: “Abu Dhabi International's first half traffic growth of over 6% underlines the strength of Etihad's organic expansion strategy that is pulling in greater passengers than before.
“Despite competing for traffic from Dubai International and Dubai World Central airports, Abu Dhabi International has carved out a significant transit point nexus for itself. With Etihad's strengthened partnership with Jet Airways, alongside its own A380 deployment to cities like Mumbai, it stands to reason that traffic flows will increase.
“The challenge going forward will be mitigating against and transition angst as Etihad works towards moving to its new Midfield Terminal later next year. With that in mind, Etihad's judicious approach to organic expansion and that of its equity partners will ensure that Abu Dhabi International will continue to be a rising and busier hub,” he said.