Dubai: The Eid Al Adha break will see 250,000 people from Dubai fly out this weekend, Emirates airline said on Wednesday.
Starting from Thursday, the mega-carrier also expects more than 160,000 people pass through Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3, its dedicated hub.
Emirates expects the long Eid weekend to bring more than 160,000 travellers through Terminal 3 this week. The bulk of its passengers are expected to travel on Friday.
Karachi, Mumbai, London, Amman and Beirut are the top destinations for travellers this Eid, the airline added.
But due to the holiday rush, travellers can expect long wait times at the airport.
Emirates urges customers to check in online, or use self-service kiosks or baggage drop facilities to speed up the process. With most airlines, travellers holding an e-boarding pass and travelling with carry-on bags only can proceed directly to passport control and security clearance.
Another way to speed up going through the airport is by using the smart gates. UAE residents flying from Terminal 3 can use their National ID cards to pass through. But in other terminals, prior registration is needed to use the smart gates. Existing owners of an e-gate card can also pass through the e-gates.
“Those travelling to the United States, Canada and the UK are reminded to charge their electronic devices before getting to the airport, as they will be required to switch on these devices at the relevant boarding gates where screenings will take place, or risk being denied access to fly,” the airline said.
The airline also reminded passengers to check in no later than 90 minutes before departure, regardless of class of travel and those who have checked in online are also required to check in their luggage 90 minutes before flight departure. Also, it added, passengers must go through security checks no later than 60 minutes before flight departure.
According to the airport’s operator, the number of travellers passing through the airport jumped 14 per cent in July to reach over 7.61 million passengers, compared with 6.68 million in the same month in 2015.
According to the monthly traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports on Monday, around 48.1 million passengers used the airport in the first seven months of this year.
This marks a seven per cent increase over the 45 million passengers recorded in the same period in 2015.
