The UAE’s aviation sector continues to scale new heights, with Dubai International maintaining its position as the world’s busiest airport for international passengers for the fifth consecutive year while the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy also grows steadily.

Dubai International (DXB) saw its 2018 passenger traffic increase 1 per cent to reach 89.1 million compared to 88.2 million in the previous year, missing its target of 90.3 million due to a slowdown in Gulf economies amid lower oil prices. It is the slowest growth for Dubai airport in the past decade.

Dubai became the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic in 2014 when it overtook London’s Heathrow Airport.

Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said the expansion of phase one of Dubai World Central was completed last year and it now has the capacity to handle 26 million passengers per year. It also reached the milestone 1-billion mark last year.

“Enhancing and controlling our costs are the essential elements which will allow us to grow our business and contribute to Dubai’s economy. In 2018, our revenues reached record highs,” Griffiths said in a video statement.

“We have to raise our game. We have got to find new ways of creating more capacity and better service quality from the limited space we have available in our facilities,” he said.