Dubai International Airport braces for summer surge

Dubai International Airport braces for summer surge Lily B. Libo-on / 29 June 2013 Summer is here again, the time when a lot of expatriate families pack their bags and fly home, and residents visit cooler climes. Once again, airport authorities and travel advisors are bracing for the busy days ahead and reminding passengers of those dos and don’ts to make travel a smooth rather than harrowing experience. Dubai International Airport is preparing for the rush of not just outbound passengers but also tourists coming in as their numbers grew 18.9 per cent in May. Smart tips for travellers Say goodbye to loved ones at home to save time and avoid congestion at the airport Use online check-in facilities or self-service check-in kiosks in the departure hall to avoid queuing Ensure that each piece of baggage is within the 32kg allowance to avoid delays; you should expect to be charged for baggage in excess of the limit set by your airline Make sure any liquids, aerosols and gels you are carrying 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. Unless absolutely necessary during the journey, it is simpler to pack them in your checked-in baggage Remember to put anything metal — watch, jewellery, mobile phone, coins — into your hand luggage well before you arrive at the X-ray machines, and save time at Security Screening As the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers, Dubai International Airport has come up with a number of new initiatives to ease the flow of passengers this summer. Majed Al Joker, vice-president, Terminal Operations at Dubai Airports, said this year was going to the busiest summer at the airport, and it would pose many challenges, “but the entire team at Dubai Airports is committed and ready to keep it smooth and easy for all our customers. Hence, aside from technological solutions, the airport has also boosted the numbers of trained customer service personnel deployed across the facility to assist passengers”. The new initiatives covered all important areas from the kerb to the boarding gates. “To reduce vehicular traffic in the forecourt at Terminal 3, Dubai Airports has rerouted all buses to the car park check-in, while seating capacity of Concourse B has been increased by nearly 30 per cent. Smart e-Gates have been increased to facilitate easy flow of passengers through immigration. Additionally, the introduction of automatic tray return machines in security check areas is also expected to ease the flow of passengers.” Though the fares of most major airlines are rising by 20 per cent, the increase has nonetheless stopped people from travelling to and from Dubai. Liezel Houghes, a British-American consultant in Dubai for the past five years, says that she has accumulated air miles that enable her to get a free air ticket to Turkey and neighbouring European states this Ramadan. “I travel annually towards the end of July and most of August where business slows down a bit due to Ramadan and the heat is soaring high in Dubai. Luckily, this year my travel is free due to my huge accumulation of air miles,” she says. A German specialist, Ludwig Schmidt, who has been here for three years, will go on vacation with his family to New Zealand as soon as the school holiday starts. “The fare is pretty high, yet this is a great chance to see my sisters there. What is important is this summer, we will escape the heat and will be rejoicing in a family reunion out there,” he says. Dubai International has recorded a passenger traffic of nearly five million for six consecutive months, up by 16.8 per cent to 27,124,195 compared to 23,216,893 during the first five months of 2012. In May alone, the airport facilitated 5,218,832 passengers, an increase of 18.9 per cent compared to 4,388,614 in 2012. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports which manages both Dubai International and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International, says that as a result of Emirates airline’s and flydubai’s expanding network, Western Europe topped the list of regions with the largest increase in total passenger numbers (+208,393), followed by the AGCC (+189,810), and the Indian sub-continent (+131,364). “Following the launch of flights by Qantas in May after the airline’s tie-up with Emirates, Australia was the fastest growing destination with 50 per cent growth in traffic and Saudi Arabia a close second (40 per cent) thanks to the post-liberalisation boom in the kingdom’s aviation sector.” India remained the top destination country in terms of total passenger numbers which reached 728,259 in May. In terms of percentage growth in passenger numbers, Eastern Europe remained the strongest market (87.3 per cent), followed by Australasia (45.6 per cent) and Asia Pacific (29.5 per cent). “Passenger numbers at the world’s second busiest international hub increase significantly during the season, which this year will coincide with the holy month of Ramadan boosting the traffic further,” Griffiths says. – lily@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International