Abu Dhabi Airports announced today that passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport increased by 17.4% in August. A total of 2,254,809 travelers passed through the capital’s gateway last month, compared with 1,920,934 in August 2014. This is the highest number of passengers in one month in the airport’s history.

There was also an increase in aircraft movements, with 15,277, a 14.1% increase compared to August 2014. Cargo activity rose to 70,857 metric tons last month, registering a 7.0% growth on the figure for freight traffic for the same period last year.

Commenting on the latest passenger figures, Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, Ahmad Al Haddabi, said, "In the month of August, we registered another record number in passenger figures at Abu Dhabi International Airport. For the second time ever, we witnessed over two million passengers traveling through AUH in a single month. This spike in traffic is attributable to many residents returning home to the UAE from vacations ahead of the beginning of the school year. Abu Dhabi is also increasingly being seen as a preferred tourism and business destination and this contributes directly to the growth we’re seeing year on year."

"In response to this, Abu Dhabi Airports has been implementing several initiatives to ensure that the airport continues to provide the facilities and services needed to manage the increased passenger and aircraft traffic. We are also paying extra attention to the peak travel season when passenger flow reaches its heights and the airport welcomes on average 70,000 passenger on a daily basis," added Al Haddabi.

In August 2015, the top five routes from Abu Dhabi International Airport were London, Bangkok, Doha, Manila, and Bombay. The top five routes accounted for 15% of all traffic.