Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) released the October 2009 traffic figures for Abu Dhabi International Airport showing strong growth throughout 2009. ADAC recorded a seven per cent increase in passengers over the course of 2009, to-date, and during the month of October saw a 2.8 per cent increase in passengers and 24.3 per cent increase in cargo against the month of October last year. The ADAC noted this was in part due to the inaugural Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2009 event which impacted both passengers and cargo as a high volume of F1-related collateral was shipped by air freight to facilitate the event. The start of Etihad’s daily service to Chicago, and the launch of Jazeera Airways’ double daily service between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait also factored into the continuing growth in traffic.