Dubai’s second largest airport Dubai World Central International Airport, had seen a 45.2% drop in passenger traffic in 2015 compared to the same period a year ago.
Passenger traffic stood at 463,236 in 2015 at the airport, a drastic drop from 845,046 reported in 2014.
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In 2014, passenger numbers in 2014 were inflated as additional services were operated by DWC as Dubai International had to undergo renovation and was operating a single runway.
The fourth quarter saw passenger traffic grow 62% following the launch of flydubai flights in last October.
The airport had 179,781 passengers in the fourth quarter, an increase from 110,920 during the corresponding period of 2014.
Movements of aircraft too grew 3.1% in Q4 of 2015 compared to 12,052 in Q4 of 2014.
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By GlobalDataFor full year of 2015, the aircraft movements at the airport, which is operated the Dubai World Central, however dropped by 11.8%, touching at 42,055.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths was quoted by Gulf Business News as saying: "DWC is entering an exciting new phase of its development as we expand the facility to prepare for additional operations from flydubai."
Freight traffic for 2015 stood at 888,714 tonnes, which is an increase of 7.7% from 824,933 tonnes in 2014.
However, freight volumes dropped by 9.9% to 228,770 tonnes in the fourth quarter.
In terms of freight traffic, the airport figures among the top 20 in the world.
"Just five years after its opening, DWC has risen up the ranks to take the 18th position in terms of international cargo volumes," Griffiths told Gulf Business News.
"As passenger services continue to ramp up DWC, it will similarly elevate its status as an attractive option to DXB for passengers."
The airport is presently undergoing a $32bn expansion in order to handle over 220 million passengers annually.
The expansion will be completed in around eight years.
The airport, also called Al Maktoum International Airport, is located at Jebel Ali, 37km southwest of Dubai.
