(Recasts lead with CEO comments, adds details and comment throughout)
By Pesha Magid
DUBAI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Dubai's main airport expects a surge in its Q4 traffic, due in part to a rebound in passengers from China, the CEO of operator Dubai Airports said on Wednesday, as the Gulf hub remains on track to surpass pre-pandemic numbers for the full year.
Dubai International (DXB) recorded 22.9 million passengers in the third quarter, the highest quarterly traffic since 2019, and annual passenger traffic is forecast to reach 86.8 million in 2023, revised upwards from 85 million passengers in August.
"One of our biggest markets in the Far East is obviously China and that has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels ... we do think in Q4 they will start to bounce back," Paul Griffiths told Reuters at the Dubai Air Show.
Total passenger traffic at DXB, among the world's busiest, for the first nine months of 2023 stood at 64.5 million, up 39.3% compared to the prior year period, and 1% above the same period in 2019.
Griffiths said the resurgence of demand is a reaction to limited supply as many airlines cut down on their fleets during the pandemic.
"There has been a shortage of capacity, a shortage of manpower and therefore the supply side of the aviation industry has run well below where it was pre-pandemic," he said.
Buoyed by a swift economic rebound post-COVID 19, Dubai, the tourism and trade hub of the Middle East, has benefited from its safe haven status, with relaxed residency rules amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Griffiths said he had so far not seen any change to passenger traffic in Dubai as a consequence of the war in Gaza, nor was he worried by a gloomy economic outlook for 2024.
"Some of our competitors may feel the pinch, but I think that the robust demand we have seen will continue," he said.
Griffiths added that DXB had begun construction on an expansion that would bring its total capacity up to 120 million passengers by 2026, from the current 100 million.
He also stated that plans were underway for expansion of Dubai's other airport Al Maktoum International (DWC), without elaborating on a timeframe. The project has faced a series of delays. (Additional reporting by Rachna Uppal Editing by Mark Potter, Editing by Louise Heavens)