Dubai: Emirates Airline advised passengers to arrive to the airport 3 hours in advance of their flight and check in remotely when possible ahead of the high traffic expected in Dubai this month.
The airline is highlighting a busy travel period for both inbound and outbound travel through Dubai for the next month. This includes travellers heading to the emirate for the festive season and the additional footfall coming through as part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which begins on November 20, and the Emirates Dubai 7s.
The UAE is expecting a million visitors during the month-long FIFA tournament. Emirates Dubai 7s is also set to welcome 5,500 athletes from 32 countries. Along with this, November and December mark a time of peak travel demand owing to several celebrations including UAE National Day and the festive period leading all the way up to the New Year.
Emirates said in a media statement that it is expecting the seasonal super outbound peak for the festive period. The airline advised passengers to take advantage of digital check-in, home and remote check-in options, smart gates and handy luggage drop services.
Check-in online, drop baggage off early
Two complimentary services that the airline has which could help passengers travel with ease are the digital check-in and the baggage drop options (varies for some routes). All passengers can check-in online 48 hours ahead of their flight using the online check-in option on www.emirates.com. In a few clicks, they can select a seat and preferred meal, and take advantage of any last-minute upgrade options.
For dropping off baggage, passengers departing from Dubai can check-in early and drop off their bags to the airport 24 hours before departure, or 12 hours before departure if flying to the US or Tel Aviv, and then arrive to the airport and proceed directly to immigration.
A quick and easy option once at the airport to avoid long queues are the self check-in kiosks.
Smart Tunnel
You could use the Smart Tunnel to simply walk through and avoid the immigration queues. Launched in 2020 the Smart Tunnel, a project by GDRFA in collaboration with Emirates, is a world-first for passport control, where passengers simply walk through a tunnel and are “cleared” by immigration authorities without human intervention or the need for a physical passport stamp.
To use this, upon arriving to Dubai International Airport passengers need to register at Emirates check-in, if not registered already
