DUBAI, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Dubai International Airport saw almost 7 million passengers, with a growth of 5.6 percent year on year, in November 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) state news agency WAM reported Thursday.

In the first 11 months of last year, total passenger number at Dubai International Airport, known as DXB, has risen 5.8 percent to 80.39 million compared with 75.95 million during Jan.-Nov. in 2016.

The airport saw 33,421 flights in November 2017, down 3.7 percent year on year, while the average number of passengers per flight remained high at 215, up 7.3 percent year on year.

Freight volumes handled at DXB increased by 0.4 percent year on year to 235,651 tons. The total volume in Jan.-Nov. period reached 2,425,475 tons, up 2.7 percent from the first 11 months of 2016.

"In the civil aviation business, you always have to be prepared for the unexpected," Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, told Xinhua at the Dubai Airshow in November last year when asked about the impact of geopolitical tensions in the region on passenger demand at DXB.

In June, 2017, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, and imposed a ban on air and land connections.