21
June
2017
|
08:51
Asia/Muscat

DXB gears up for Eid Holiday rush

Dubai, UAE – June 21, 2017 – Dubai International (DXB) is lining up extra staff and an exciting array of activities, promotions and entertainment as part of its preparations for the Eid holiday rush.

With Eid coinciding with schools across the UAE closing for the summer, Dubai Airports is anticipating heightened traffic during the week with over 1.9 million passengers expected to pass through DXB. The busiest day for departures will be Friday, June 23 with over 76,000 departing passengers while June 30 will be the busiest day for total traffic (departing, arriving and connecting) with over 262,000 customers. 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 Airports 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 concentrations. Further, the airport’s new smart gate service, which allows the use of Emirates ID cards upon arrival and departure, will reduce immigration transaction times to 10-15 seconds and alleviate congestion at immigration points.

“Due to the heavy passenger loads we want to remind passengers to give themselves a bit of extra time to get to and through the airport,” said Anita Mehra, Senior Vice President of Communication & Reputation at Dubai Airports. “We also want to ensure they start enjoying their vacation as soon as they reach DXB. So, in cooperation with Emirates Leisure & Retail (ELR), we have launched a joint initiative called ‘Early Birds Have More Fun’ which helps travellers kick-start their summer holidays at Dubai International with discounts at a range of world class restaurants, as well as live entertainment and competitions for all the family.”

Passengers can now make use of the Early Birds offers by downloading them from www.earlybirdshavemorefun.com . Discounts include up to 25% off at Emirates Leisure Retail’s diverse range of restaurants, as well as up to 25% off spa treatments at Be Relax and a chance to win a family trip to The Residence Maldives by Cenizaro from dnata travel. Over the peak summer travel period, the airport will also feature live performances as part of Dubai Airports’ ongoing musicDXB initiative. Last but not the least, the recently launched unlimited free high speed Wi-Fi across DXB will keep passengers connected to their friends and families and also allow them to make the most of their time at the airport.

Dubai Airports has also issued holiday season smart travel tips to support passenger convenience during the holiday travel peak.

Smart Travel Tips:
• Be sure to check which airport and terminal you are departing from/arriving into beforehand. Passengers can confirm with their airline or check www.dubaiairports.ae
• Arrive early at 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 will be very busy. Please say your goodbyes at home.
• Check with the airline in advance for information on your baggage allowance. Irrespective of the allowance, a single unit of baggage weighing more than 32kgs 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 or using the self-service check-in kiosks in the departures hall. 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.
• UAE residents are encouraged to use Emirates ID cards at any smart gate which helps avoid queuing at passport control, both while arriving and on departure.