Dubai: With Eid just around the bend, the rush at Dubai International Airport has seen bumper-to-bumper traffic heading towards Terminals 1 and 3.
Social media users have reported heavy traffic en route to the major international gateways in the UAE — in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
In Dubai alone, over 1.9 million passengers are expected to pass through Dubai International during the heightened traffic of Eid holiday, according to Dubai Airports.
Extra staff had been assigned to cope with the rush alongside an exciting array of activities, promotions and entertainment in the build-up to the Eid holiday rush.
Turning a potentially dreadful experience into a positive one - kudos to Dubai airports https://t.co/sAWoFS6nMF
— Victor Rodrigues (@Vickedtwit) June 22, 2017
With Eid coinciding with schools across the UAE closing for the summer, the emirate is anticipating heavy traffic during the week.
Googlemaps taken at 8.55am shows heavy traffic building (in red) outside Terminal 3 at Dubai International.
Airport officials said the busiest day for departures will be Friday, June 23rd with over 76,000 departing passengers while June 30 will be the busiest day for total traffic, i.e. departing, arriving and connecting — with over 262,000 customers.
@dubaitraffic @Dubai92 @Dubaiinformer Bumper to bumper to T1&3. Long lines @ Checkin counters. Plan well, arrive early. Happy holidays pic.twitter.com/h7mBdErQip— Sijo Mathews (@SijoMathews) June 23, 2017
As is the case during each peak traffic season, Dubai Airports, in collaboration with airlines and other partners at DXB, is taking a number of steps to ensure passenger volumes don't affect service.
Dubai International's Terminal 2 traffic build-up at 1.26pm, Friday, June 23, 2017
Dubai Airports said they will augment staff levels and employ passenger flow monitoring technology that allows the airport, airlines and control authorities to detect and deploy staff to areas of high passenger concentration.
The airport's new smart gate technology, which allows the use of Emirates ID cards upon arrival and departure, will scale down immigration transaction times to 10-15 seconds and alleviate congestion at immigration points.
Majed Al Joker, Senior Vice President for Corporate Assurance & Governance, Dubai International Airport, has commended the efforts made by teams working at Dubai airports along with the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority's (DCAA) strategic partners, to ensure the best levels of services and comfort for all passengers
He singled out the clear-cut instructions made by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the DCAA, CEO and Chairman of the Emirates Group, to render travel through Dubai a wonderful and indelible experience for all travelers.
