Dubai International Airport handled 201,100 tonnes in August compared to 207,427 tonnes recorded in August 2015, a contraction of 3.1 per cent.

The operator Dubai Airports says year-to-date (YTD) cargo after eight months of 2016 reached 1,686,277 tonnes, up 2.4 per cent compared to 1,645,815 tonnes recorded during the first eight months last year.

Aircraft movements totalled 33,827 during the month compared to 34,773 movements recorded in August 2015, marginally down by 2.7 per cent. YTD aircraft movement totalled 276,233 up 2.9 per cent compared to 268,360, recorded during the same period in 2015.

The Middle East region has seen a slowdown in airfreight volumes over the last few months, but despite this it is still one of best performing regions of the globe.