Leisure passengers grew by over 5%, totaling to 85% of Leisure traffic to and from the GCC
Dubai, UAE – March 14th, 2019: Highlighting the growing demand for its flights, Lufthansa Group carriers have reported a 3% increase in passenger traffic in the UAE for 2018, compared to the previous year. The Group’s airlines Lufthansa and SWISS carried over 345,000 passengers to and from the UAE during the January-December period.
A total of 671,000 passengers to and from the GCC region were transported in 2018.
Heinrich Lange, Senior Director Sales, Gulf, Afghanistan & Pakistan Lufthansa Group, said: “Home to very active and dynamic population, the UAE has been witnessing continued growth in air travel. This is also driven by the easing of travel barriers and increased interest to discover international destinations. Similarly, the UAE has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations for both business and leisure travelers, thanks to its rapidly growing economy and wide range of tourism attractions. At the Lufthansa Group, we saw robust demand for long-haul flights in 2018 from passengers traveling to and from the country as a true testimony to the success of our efforts focused on enhancing our services further. We remain committed to exploring new ways to offer unique experiences to our yearning customers.”
During 2018, the Lufthansa Group increased its passenger capacity on the UAE’s routes by 4% in order to meet the increased customer demand. Lufthansa currently operates 41 weekly flights between Frankfurt and six destinations in the region, namely Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Bahrain. In addition, the Group’s network airline SWISS offers seven weekly frequencies between Zurich and airports in Dubai and Muscat.
The region’s most trending destinations in Europe included London, Paris, and Munich. Meanwhile, Toronto, Washington, and Los Angeles were named as the top three long distance destinations for outbound travelers last year.
A key driver of Lufthansa Group’s strong performance, Leisure travel grew by over 5% to represent the largest share of passenger on UAE flights at 85%.
