Ahmed Al Jallaf, Assistant Director-General of the Air Navigation Services Sector at the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said that air traffic in the UAE grew by 14 percent in February, compared with the same period in 2023.

In his statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the 21st meeting of the Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group, which kicked off today in Abu Dhabi and will run until 8th March, Al Jallaf said that a day in February 2024 witnessed the highest level of air traffic in the history of civil aviation in the UAE, with some 2,900 air movements being recorded.

The growth in air traffic since the start of 2024 complements the significant growth recorded in 2023 of nearly 19 percent from 2022, he added.

According to previous data from the GCAA, the total number of passengers travelling through the country’s airports in 2023 exceeded 134 million, a growth rate of 33 percent compared to 2022, and a rate exceeding 5 percent from 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the strength and competitiveness of the UAE’s aviation sector and its success in gaining significant international trust.

Al Jallaf said he expects air traffic in the UAE to achieve growth in both halves of 2024, in light of the expansions witnessed by the country's airports, especially with the opening of the Passenger Terminal A at Zayed International Airport and the current expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, in addition to the major expansions of the fleets of national airlines.

The third conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) hosted by the UAE last November, which coincided with the COP28, resulted in an international agreement on a global framework for low-carbon aviation fuel and sustainable fuel, highlighting further growth for the future of civil aviation and the UAE’s initiatives to support sustainability efforts, he added.