Dubai: Passengers travelling from Dubai International Airport have been advised to arrive at least three hours before departure due to the holiday travel peak.
Dubai International Airport expects to peak at 16 million passengers during July and August with people either transiting or departing from Dubai.
With the start of the summer season this week, Dubai Airports confirmed that it will increase the number of staff at vital points, starting from the drop-off point at the parking lot all the way to the boarding gate.
“The Airport Operations Control Centre will utilise advanced operations monitoring systems to keep an eye on the flow of customers, bags and status of various services to anticipate pinch points and interruptions and accordingly, alert relevant service partners to deploy staff and resources to reduce wait times,” said Dubai Airports in a statement.
According to statistics provided by the authority, the waiting-time at Dubai International Airport has been reduced by 30 per cent during the first quarter of 2019.
Travel Tips
- Be sure to check which airport and terminal you are departing from/arriving into beforehand. Passengers can confirm with their airline, check online on www.dubaiairports.ae or use Dubai Airports’ smartphone app.
- Arrive early to the airport. It is best to leave a minimum of three hours for check-in and passport control. Take into consideration daily rush hours and available routes in calculating your commuting time to the airport.
- Leave extra time for your journey to the airport as the roads can be very busy during holiday season.
- Check with the airline in advance for information on your baggage allowance. Irrespective of the allowance, a single unit of baggage weighing more than 32kg will not be accepted at check-in. You should expect to be charged for baggage more than the limit set by your respective airline.
- It is always simpler to pack liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) in your check-in baggage. However, if you must carry LAGs in your hand luggage, make sure they are in a clear re-sealable plastic bag. Each item should not be more than 100ml and the total content of all items should not be more than one litre.
- Beat the queues by checking-in online. Customers with baggage can make use of the quick-baggage drop counters, while those carrying only hand luggage can proceed directly to Immigration.
- Remember to put anything metal – watch, jewellery, mobile phone, coins, belt – into your hand luggage well before you arrive at the X-ray machine. This will save time at security screening.
- Eligible visitors (nationals of countries that get visa on arrival) and UAE residents (Emirates ID card) can use smart gates to avoid queuing at passport control, both while arriving and on departure.
