DUBAI: Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, recorded its busiest month ever in August for passenger traffic, which the operator said was boosted by a seasonal increase in travelers.
The number of passengers traveling through the airport increased 6.6 percent to 8.23 million compared to the same month a year ago, operator Dubai Airports said in a statement on Tuesday.
August is the third time this year the airport has seen record monthly passenger traffic, beating July’s 8.07 million and January’s 8.04 million.
The number of passengers per flight increased 7.2 percent to 246, however, flight movements — or landings and take-offs — declined for the fourth consecutive month.
Flight movements were down 1.7 percent to 34,370.
The most popular destinations by passenger volume were London, Kuwait, and Mumbai, and the airport handled 221,508 tons of cargo, which was 10.1 percent more than the same month a year earlier.
Dubai Airports’ statement did not mention the regional crisis, which has seen the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states ban flights to and from Qatar.
Dubai airport passenger traffic up 6.6% in August, busiest month on record
Dubai airport passenger traffic up 6.6% in August, busiest month on record
QatarEnergy announces force majeure following Iran attacks: statement
DOHA: Qatar’s state-run energy firm on Wednesday declared force majeure following attacks on two of its main facilities that halted liquefied natural gas production and as Iran pressed missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
“Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers,” the company said in a statement.
QatarEnergy invoked the clause, which shields it from penalties and potential breach of contract claims from clients, after stopping LNG production on Monday.
Iranian drones attacked two of the company’s main production hubs in Ras Laffan Industrial City, 80 km north of Doha and in Mesaieed 40 km south of the Qatari capital, Doha’s ministry of defense said at the time.
The Gulf state is one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas producers, alongside the US, Australia and Russia.
On Tuesday, QatarEnergy said it would halt some downstream production of some products including urea, polymers, methanol, aluminum and others.
Qatar shares the world’s largest natural gas reservoir with Iran.
QatarEnergy estimates the Gulf state’s portion of the reservoir, the North Field, holds about 10 percent of the world’s known natural gas reserves.
In recent years, Qatar has inked a series of long-term LNG deals with France’s Total, Britain’s Shell, India’s Petronet, China’s Sinopec and Italy’s Eni, among others.
