More passengers flying from Dubai

Dubai International Airport has recorded a 19.5 percent increase in passengers in September compared to the same month last year.

More than 3.1 million people passed through the airport last month, which compares to September 2008's figure of just under 2.7 million.

So far in 2009, over 30 million passengers have arrived or departed from Dubai, which is an increase from 27.9 million recorded this time last year.

Chief executive officer of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths said that the hub is the only one of the world's top-ten airports to show positive growth in international passenger numbers during each quarter this year.

"We've seen a 35 percent increase in passengers travelling to and from Asia, a 21 percent rise in western Europe and a 20 percent upsurge in our largest market, the Indian subcontinent," he commented.

"While many airports worldwide continue to see traffic shrink, in Dubai business is good."

By June this year, more than 100 airlines operated flights to over 200 destinations from the Middle East airport.