Dubai Airports first in Mideast to have special counters for disabled

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai) is considered the first in the Middle East and one of the first in the world to offer special services for disabled people at Dubai Airports.
 
Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director-General of GDRFA-Dubai, said that the directorate has made significant progress in caring for disabled people by adopting modern techniques in the field of services offered for them. GDRFA is keen to play its role in making Dubai a disability-friendly city by 2020, he added.
 
Maj. Gen. Al Marri said disabled people usually face difficulties and obstacles at airports. GDRFA-Dubai took this humanitarian issue into consideration to become one of the first in the world and the first in the Middle East to provide special counters for them to make their travel through Dubai Airports more comfortable.
 
He added people with physical disabilities find it difficult to move at airports, pointing out that it is hard for the disabled to cross passport counters and gates and this is the situation in most airports around the world.
 
“We have special counters at each terminal, both arrival and departure halls, and they are designed to meet the requirements of disabled people. The height and the width of those counters are suitable for travellers sitting in wheelchairs so that they can see the face of the passport control officer without the need for them to raise their head, which make it comfortable for them,” he said.
 
He pointed out that a smart gate and an e-gate have also been allocated for disabled people, while the smart gate at Terminal 3 is the first of its kind in the Middle East, which allows handicapped people to complete travel procedures in just 18 seconds. He pointed out that this aims to reduce check-in to a single step and reduce the time it takes to process, to make it easier for disabled persons.
 
He added that all GDRFA officers at the airports have been instructed to help disabled people and the elderly and those who need help.
 
"We also have 20 well-trained officers who can use sign language to deal with people with physical disabilities," he said.
 
Colonel Talal Shanqiti, Assistant Director-General for airport affairs, said special services for disabled people are available in all terminals of Dubai Airports including Al Maktoum Airport.
 
Amal Ali, a disabled woman who lives in Dubai, said that she uses a wheel chair but GDRFA services at the airport are great as they make it easy for her to move and travel because of the special counters for disabled people.
 
Andre Stunt, a frequent visitor to the UAE, said that the passport control counter allocated for disabled people at Dubai Airports is easy and unique and it is not available in most advanced airports in the world.
 
 

 

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